The Wretched Life of Our Hero
by DJ Lee
Summary: Unlike the series approach to Gohan, he has fallen into a depression and vows to become strong enough to defend the Earth. When he enters High School, could this one stubborn girl open him up? GV
1. Vow of a Warrior

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation.

Chapter 1

Vow of a Warrior

'It was all my fault,' he thought to himself. He kept repeating that mantra in his head until he fell into a sleepless slumber. When he awakened, he noticed that he was in the middle of his room. Reaching up to his face, he found stains of dried tears and memories of the previous day flooded back into him. He was barely capable of holding back more tears as his hair flashed a golden blonde.

'Damn, if only I listened to him! None of this would've happened,' he cursed himself. Slowly and lazily picking himself off the floor, he walked to the bathroom to do his usual morning routine, except this morning was going to be different. Usually after he finished his business he was greeted with the smiling face of his beloved father. Now, when he awakened, he was greeted with the tearstained face of his mother. Seeing her this way only brought on more guilt to the young boy. Gohan gritted his teeth to block out the painful memories, but failed miserably.

"I miss him so much, Gohan," his mother admitted.

Gohan nodded his head in agreement and broke down in more tears. 'Again, I've hurt another loved one by my stupid decision. I don't deserve to live,' he thought guiltily to himself.

"Gohan? Why are you still in your Super Saiyan form?" Chichi asked confused as to the state her son was currently in.

"Huh?" he asked in bewilderment before he realized that he hadn't dropped back down to his normal form. He heaved a sigh and powered down so as to return the golden locks back to the midnight black they were originally.

Wiping the few remaining tears in her eyes, she set about the day's chores. "Sorry Gohan, but I'm afraid that you'll have to wait a little longer before you can have your breakfast."

Gohan nodded slightly and said, "I'll be outside training."

"Okay, I'll call you when breakfast is ready," responded the heartbroken woman. She had broken down just as bad as Gohan had the day before and had ran out of theirs to continue to weep. Right now crying was the least of her worries when she had her son to feed.

Gohan nodded again and left the room, walking into the outdoors to begin his training. The moment he stepped outside, he was greeted with a small gust of wind. Raising his ki slightly to shield himself, he closed his eyes until he felt the wind no longer blowing in his face. Once he was certain the wind was out of his way, he glanced up into the clear blue sky. Looking up into the sky brought a slight pang of guilt over him. He used to always go to the park and stare at the sky with his father whenever he had time, but now, it was different. His father died to protect the Earth due to his selfless acts and he cursed himself for doing so. It seems that every time something goes wrong, it was his fault. Gohan gritted his teeth and once again his hair flared a bright gold before the light died down revealing a SSJ 2 Gohan.

He stood there, staring into the blue sky with tears threatening to escape through his eyes. He blinked a few times in hopes of suppressing the tears. After standing there for 5 minutes, 32 seconds, and 12 milliseconds, he turned his gaze away. He had come to a conclusion, his father wanted him to live and protect what's left of Earth's inhabitants. As a lone tear found its way down his face, Gohan hurriedly wiped the tear away. Quickly his form dropped down to his regular Super Saiyan state for the ascended level required too much energy for the young boy to generate.

He still missed his father greatly and regretted his actions. Remorse and anger were the only emotions flooding through his body. His father sacrificed his life for the sake of his son, so now he is standing in the middle of the field, alone. Gohan cursed himself as he felt his knees weaken once again. 'The least I could do to repay my father is to protect the Earth he grew up on and loved so much.' Slowly bringing himself to his feet, he stood steadily and suppressed any oncoming tears threatening to spill down his face.

"I Son Gohan, has sworn that from this day on, I will protect the Earth to the best of my ability and never leave this form in honor of my father. I will train as much as possible to reach my full potential to defend the Earth from any foes that may terrorize the Earth."

After reciting the vow, Gohan opened his aqua green eyes to gaze upon the sky once again. "I won't let you down, dad."

"Gohan! Breakfast is ready!" his mother's voice called. Her voice held some pain and anguish in it as she called her only son to the table.

Gohan sighed and walked back to his home. Upon approaching the table, Chichi wondered why her son had decided to remain in his Super Saiyan state. Ignoring the annoying golden hair, Chichi set down an immense plate with enough food to feed five men.

"Gohan, why are you still in your Super Saiyan state?" she asked worriedly as something might be troubling her son.

He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat his food quickly when he heard his mother's question. He swallowed the mouthful of rice and answered her query. "I've made this vow, to protect the Earth by all means necessary, even that of death."

"I understand that honey, but why don't you change back to normal?" Inside she was hurting. She was in agony because her baby had vowed to protect his home, even if he died while doing so.

Realizing that one answer wouldn't be enough to satisfy his mother, he put down his chopsticks and replied calmly, "I have also vowed to never change from this state to honor father's death. As long as I am like this, I will never forget him and remember that his sacrifice was not put in vain."

Chichi nodded in understanding and gestured for her son to continue his meal. Soon after his first serving was finished, Chichi dished out another plate with a bigger amount for the demi-saiyan.

"Would you like me to train with you after I wash the dishes?"

Gohan shook his head and cleared the table. "No, that's alright. In fact, I want to train with Piccolo since I believe he has some methods that could help me more than you could."

Chichi's eyes fell downcast and she nodded. "Piccolo may train you to become stronger and gain more strength, but he doesn't have much to do with skills and stances. Anytime you need to work on your skills come to me alright?"

He nodded his head, abiding to his mother's wishes and vanished into his room to find a gi. Wearing a gi would be much more comfortable than the street clothes he had on, which consists of slightly baggy jeans, a white t- shirt and a navy colored light jacket. Choosing to wear his father's favorite colors, he quickly dressed himself. After securing his boots on, he looked in the mirror. He looked exactly like his father, except for the fact that he was younger and his hair was slightly different. Gohan sighed and exited his room where he informed his mother of his departure. Once he was in the air, he closed his eyes to enjoy the simple task of flying. Everything reminded him of Goku. How he missed him!

Opening one aqua colored eye, Gohan realized that he was close to the Lookout. He opened both eyes and flew faster until he reached his destination.

Piccolo sat in his meditative pose until he felt a very familiar ki. Pulling himself out of his trance, he landed softly on the tiled floor of the Look out and dusted himself off. Sitting around in the same position after a while did attract a little dirt and dust. He waited for his former pupil to land.

"Piccolo," he started out.

Piccolo approached the young demi-saiyan and replied, "Yeah kid? Is there anything you want?"

Gohan nodded and explained his little vow earlier that morning, calmly leaving out about the part about death if necessary to protect Earth.

"So, you want my help in your training? Fine, I have no problem with that. I'll be struggling a little to keep up with you though. We may start anytime you desire."

Gohan walked over to the edge of the plateau and answered, "Let's start now." He quickly flew off the edge and into the sky at a very fast speed.

Piccolo soon followed in suit and flew at top speed to catch up with the young saiyan boy.

* * *

"Don't look with your eyes! Sense it!" Piccolo screamed as he launched forward at Gohan with his multiple selves from one of his attacks. 

Gohan gritted his teeth and tried to concentrate on the moving target, but had difficulty when he was knocked off balance while trying to defend himself. Not to mention the fact that his hair was in his eyes. Gohan tried to ignore the stinging sensation of having his hair come in contact with the cornea of his eye. He needed to get a hair cut. When his hair was up in his SSJ 2 state, he didn't really have to worry about it, but now that his hair was down and grew since the last time he had a hair cut, so he desperately needed one.

Piccolo veered upwards and gave a roundhouse kick to the poorly guarded boy. "Come on Gohan, you can do better than that!"

"I'm trying my best, Piccolo!" Gohan hissed through clench teeth as he attempted to defend himself from another onslaught.

"Gohan, I told you not to look for your target all the time, but to sense them!" Piccolo paused from attacking to observe the bruised and slightly battered boy. "Let's take a break."

Gohan panted slightly and dropped to the ground. Fighting three Piccolos was harder than fighting his dad. At least when he was fighting his father, he needn't worry about being attacked at the same time by other copies. He wiped the sweat from his brow with the sweatband on his wrist.

"Listen kid, it's starting to get late so you better get home. We will continue this tomorrow," Piccolo stated as his other selves vanished, leaving one Piccolo standing in front of the panting boy. Piccolo picked up his discarded weighted training gear and flew sluggishly through the air.

Gohan stood up shakily and nodded his head in agreement before flying back towards his house. When he walked through the front door, Chichi immediately noticed his cuts and bruises.

"Rough day training with Piccolo?" Chichi asked observing a massive bruise on his left forearm which was starting to produce blood from a slight cut.

Gohan nodded slightly and plopped down on the couch.

"Looks like I'm going to need a full bag of senzu beans per month to keep you in good health with the way you're training," she said as she reached into a drawer to retrieve a brown pouch full of magical green beans.

Gohan chewed the bean, resenting the bitter taste of the juice that emerged from within the insides. Once he swallowed, he immediately felt the cuts and bruises disappear from his pale skin.

"Gohan, you better be careful when you're fighting. Sparing or a real fight, I want you to take good care of yourself."

He nodded dumbly and leaned his head on the back of the couch to stare into the blank white ceiling.

Chichi grabbed Gohan's arm and said, "Come one, dinner's ready."

Gohan slowly picked himself off the couch and made his way towards the dining room where a large plate of food was awaiting him. Immediately picking up his chopsticks, he began to devour the food set out in front of him.

Chichi watched her son eat and couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. He had lost his father at a young age and was still blaming himself for Goku's death. She gave her son one last glance before turning towards the small plate of food in front of her and began to eat.

After the meal, Gohan cleaned off the table and finished off his daily homework assigned by his mother. Right now he was currently in the level of a junior in college, at the age of eleven. That was a great feat for someone his age to accomplish. If he had keeps up his studies for another few years, it'll be no time when he obtains enough knowledge to get 10 or more degrees.

"Mom?"

Chichi turned away from her book and looked up at her son. "What is it Gohan?"

"I need a hair cut," he replied simply.

Chichi observed his hair and decided that it wasn't too long, even though the amount of hair on his head was certainly large. "Do you want a trim?"

Gohan shook her head. "Actually, I want my hair to be shorter than that, something like this," he explained as he ascended to the next level. "My current hair style keeps getting in my eyes and I don't want to power up every time I want the hair out of my eyes."

Chichi nodded in understanding and watched as her son reverted back to the normal Super Saiyan state. "Let me get the scissors and razors." She stood up from her chair after marking the page she was on. After a few minutes of rummaging through the closet, she emerged with a barber set of succors. "Sit down on that chair," she ordered.

Gohan did what he was told and seated himself. He waited for his mother to start cutting his hair. By the time she was done, there was a huge mass of golden hair on the floor, which flickered and reverted back to black. Chichi brushed off the scraps of hair on her son's shoulder and announced that she was finished. Gohan held up the mirror and was not surprised to find that he looked just like he was in Super Saiyan 2, except his hair was a lot shorter. Noticing that all his hair was pointed straight up, he decided to pull down a bang to attain the image of an ascended Super Saiyan. "Thanks mom." He swiftly stood up from the chair and headed towards the bathroom.

She watched her son exit the room to go take a shower and sighed to herself. "It just isn't the same without you, Goku."

* * *

So, um… What do you think of this? Is this good or bad? Please give me your opinion for it is greatly appreciated. Keep in mind that this is first actual Dragon Ball Z story considering my other one was just a practice piece to help me get an insight of the actual feelings, emotions, and characters. 

Please excuse any grammatical errors for I do currently have a slight cold and a headache.

Next Chapter (If I decide to continue): Goten is discovered. Will Gohan live up to his vow?

Next Next Chapter: Gohan has finally reached the age to attend High School. Yay! Enter Videl, the incredibly stubborn and vicious daughter of Mr. Satan.


	2. A New Life

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. 

Previous Chapter:

_Chichi nodded in understanding and watched as her son reverted back to the normal Super Saiyan state. "Let me get the scissors and razors." She stood up from her chair after marking the page she was on. After a few minutes of rummaging through the closet, she emerged with a barber set of succors. "Sit down on that chair," she ordered._

_Gohan did what he was told and seated himself. He waited for his mother to start cutting his hair. By the time she was done, there was a huge mass of golden hair on the floor, which flickered and reverted back to black. Chichi brushed off the scraps of hair on her son's shoulder and announced that she was finished. Gohan held up the mirror and was not surprised to find that he looked just like he was in Super Saiyan 2, except his hair was a lot shorter. Noticing that all his hair was pointed straight up, he decided to pull down a bang to attain the image of an ascended Super Saiyan. "Thanks mom." He swiftly stood up from the chair and headed towards the bathroom._

_She watched her son exit the room to go take a shower and sighed to herself. "It just isn't the same without you, Goku."_

* * *

Chapter 2

A New Life

Gohan woke up the next morning with a yawn and scratched his head, only to find a large mass of hair, which he once owned, gone. He was alerted immediately and looked up at a piece of golden bang hanging over his eyes.

'What's going on?' he asked in confusion.

He picked himself off the bed and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked no different than before, except for the length of the hair. After seeing the projected image of himself in the small mirror on his oak desk, memories of the previous day's events flooded into him.

"My vow," he whispered quietly.

Gohan shook his head slightly before entering the bathroom to do his morning business. Once he emerged, he quickly changed into an orange fighting gi before heading downstairs. When he entered the kitchen, he found his mother slaving away at the stove.

"Hi mom," he greeted in a low voice.

Chichi turned around to face her child and smiled briefly at him before returning to her cooking.

Gohan seated himself at the table and waited patiently for his breakfast to be served to him. Once Chichi was finished with the simple (difficult considering Gohan _is_ partially saiyan) task, she set the plate down on the table in front of her son.

"Enjoy your breakfast Gohan," she said affectionately as she walked away to get her share of the food before the demi-saiyan devoured it all.

After a long and tedious breakfast full of silence, Gohan announced that he was done before stepping out of the house. Once outside, he was not surprised to find Piccolo in his meditative pose in front of his house. Gohan slowly walked up to him.

"So, you're finally done eating I presume," came the voice of the wise namek.

Gohan nodded his head accordingly and dropped into a defensive stance several yards away from his house.

Piccolo noticed his movements and discarded his heavy weighted wear in a corner by a bunch of jagged rocks. He smirked at his young pupil and dropped into an attack stance. "Let's get started."

Gohan narrowed his eyes as seriousness crossed his features. He clenched his fist and unclenched it to prepare for any attack his old sensei might have in stored for him.

Piccolo let out a small scream before charging at the boy. Slowly Gohan improved his movements and attacks as they sparred from the ground to the air.

Gohan clenched his fist even tighter and threw a punch toward Piccolo's torso.

Piccolo flew back from the impact and countered with a kick to Gohan's face and a ki blast for added effect.

The young saiyan was knocked back briefly before charging up slightly. He charged towards his sensei and threw a series of punches before a few kicks. Afterwards, he fired a massive ki blast towards the namek.

Piccolo blocked most of the attacks, but when he was actually hit, the pain was immense. The ki blast came; the Piccolo's first reaction was to block. When it was growing hard to block, he deflected it. Finally fed up with being on the defensive, Piccolo powered up and created multiples of himself. "No more fooling around. Now the real training begins," he said with a stern voice before having his other selves charge at the demi-saiyan.

Gohan clenched his teeth and prepared himself for the attacks he knew he had coming. As he expected, he was attacked from every direction, throwing him off balance. Once he was used to the multiple attacks, he powered up slightly and began to fight back instead of defending. When he was sure he was to be victorious, he was met with a few kicks to the face and to the gut before thrown violently to the ground. Gohan crawled out of the crater and limped a little through his first few steps.

"Had enough, Gohan?" Piccolo asked through his panting.

Gohan took a few more steps before charging at the malicious green man floating the clear blue sky. "Not yet," he answered hoarsely. He threw rapid punches and kicks, only to have each attack dodged or blocked. Gohan narrowed his eyes and threw a few more punches before landing a very hard kick to the back of Piccolo's head.

Piccolo fell deep in the ground, creating a massive crater.

Just as Gohan thought he had won the match, he was in torso with a ki ball. Gohan was thrown back in surprise, but countered with his own ki blast. As the match between ki blasts erupted, the light and intensity from the fight became overwhelming. Slowly, the light died down to find Gohan in the air with his clothes slightly charred and singed from the attack.

Meanwhile, Piccolo picked himself off the ground and dusted off his clothes. "Your skills have clearly improved since yesterday. I assume that your hair was in your way," he said gesturing towards the short mangled mop of blonde hair on his pupil.

Gohan nodded as a reply and dropped to his knees, exhausted from the little sparring session. He wasn't even using his full power, yet he was still tired. Maybe if he started out as a Super Saiyan 2 and gradually decrease to the form of Super Saiyan 1, it would help him grow stronger. He couldn't risk reverting to normal thanks to his vow. At that sudden the ki of a particular person disappeared briefly and then flashed back to life, signifying the unconsciousness of the person. Gohan immediately recognized his mother's ki and rushed into the house to find his mother unconscious on the floor with broken dishes everywhere.

"Mom!" Gohan shook her shoulder to find that she was not waking up. He clenched his teeth and picked up her limp body. "I've got to get her to Bulma. May she'll know what's wrong with her."

Piccolo entered the scene. "What in the world happened to her?"

"I don't know!" screamed the panicking boy. Gohan hurried towards the door and took off in the air.

* * *

When Gohan arrived on the scene, Vegeta was waiting outside on the front lawn. "What's your hurry, brat? Come here for a spar?" 

Gohan glared at him. At that moment Bulma came out from behind her husband. "Gohan, what's wrong?"

"It's my mom!"

Bulma looked at the body in his arms and panicked. "What's wrong with her? Did something happen?"

"I don't know!" screamed the boy.

Bulma gestured for him to follow her inside the building with Piccolo trailing behind.

"So, it looks like there's something wrong with Kakarotto's mate," Vegeta said to himself as he followed slowly with a small smile. "This will be interesting."

After an hour of waiting, Gohan was about ready to blow up the planet through his anxiousness. Finally Bulma emerged from her laboratory with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Bulma, is there anything wrong with her?" Piccolo asked for, the young demi-saiyan who was pale as a ghost and was clenching the bench so tight, cracks were forming.

"You don't have to worry, guys. It seems like it was nothing at all, but there is a little surprise in stored for us all. Why don't you go in and visit your mother, Gohan?"

Gohan released the bench and it crumpled to dust. Slowly entering the room where his mother was resting peacefully in, he took a death breath. Approaching the side of the bed, he seated himself in the white plastic chair beside the bed.

"How are you feeling mom?" he asked with concern.

Chichi took her son's hand in her own and smiled. She looked down towards her stomach and placed her other hand upon it affectionately. "It looks like we're going to have a new member in the family."

Gohan stared at her confused for a minute until he realized what she meant. "So, is it a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know yet. Bulma didn't tell me anything. Hopefully after a month or two, Bulma could determine the gender of this little guy," she replied.

Gohan sighed in relief as the information sunk into him. There was actually nothing wrong with her after all, just the side effects of her pregnancy. "So, when could you go home?"

Chichi thought for a minute and answered him, "I think Bulma said that I would be able to leave today."

Gohan flashed her a small smile and stood up. "I'll be back later, mom. Right now I'm going to get something to eat. Do you want anything?"

She shook her head and watched as her son exited the room, closing the door softly as he left.

"For some reason, I don't think he was all too happy about what I've just told him. Could it be that more stress has been put on his shoulders because there is someone else he has to protect?" she murmured to herself.

Releasing the thought, she slumped back against the headboard and waited for sleep to succumb her.

* * *

Outside, Gohan drank a nice warm cup of hot chocolate. 

"Hey Gohan. So, are you excited?" asked Bulma as she passed through the hall.

Gohan sighed and nodded with a forced smile. "Yeah, I'm real excited." While in the inside, he was in agony. 'Great, another thing to remind me of how I screwed up. I've just deprived my new sibling of our father. I'm scum, quite possibly the lowest creature on Earth.' He had considered suicide two days ago, on the death of his father, but he held himself back. He knew that his father would want him to live, so he lived. Now, he felt as if he should've done so when he had the chance.

Bulma shot him a sympathetic glance. 'It must be very hard on him,' she thought to herself. 'I know something that'll cheer him up.'

"Guess what, Gohan? Thanks to the enhanced and high tech equipment Capsule Corp. has produced, we have the ability to determine the gender of a baby right after it's conceived."

Gohan nodded dumbly, tuning her out completely. Then one word caught his attention while Bulma was rambling.

"It turns out you're going to have new baby brother!" she exclaimed with a wide smile.

The remains of the beverage Gohan was previous drinking ended up on the floor somehow as the demi-saiyan looked away from her gaze. He concentrated his gaze at his feet where a puddle of hot chocolate lay. Suddenly a machine came strolling by quickly, picking up the liquid. This was _not_ what he needed. Being reminded of his failures and his stupidity only brought more pain towards him. He closed his eyes tight and gritted his teeth while clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"T-thanks, Bulma," he forced out. He blinked back any tears that may erupt and calmly walked pass her.

Bulma sighed as she watched the retreating figure walk away from her view. 'His life is already in torment and it's only beginning. Poor guy.' Bulma turned around and walked down to hall to meet Vegeta who was leaning leisurely against the walls with his arms crossed in an arrogant manner.

"Kakarotto's brat is facing the hard times. This _may_ develop character for him. After all, he _is_ a Saiyan and we all know that we saiyans always have pride."

"Yes, but Gohan doesn't seem to take much pride in what he does. It's more like he's in a world of pain and torture than a normal life without a father," said Bulma.

Vegeta snorted. "It's obvious that Kakarotto and his brat never took any pride in what they did, but deep down they actually do, thanks to their saiyan blood. Just like in the Cell Games a few days ago, Kakarotto's brat was so filled with pride that he didn't even know his own limitations and the cost of his actions."

"And that resulted in Goku's death," she finished off.

"Exactly."

"But what can we do to help him? I've never seen him like this before."

Vegeta stepped away from the wall and started walking towards the Gravity Chamber. "Leave him be. A true saiyan will solve his problems on his own."

"But he isn't a true saiyan. He's just half. Don't you get it Vegeta? He's not like other saiyans. He's different from all of them, especially you."

Vegeta stopped in his tracks. She _had_ a point there. He ignored her last comment and continued toward his destination.

"Gohan, I wish there was some way we could make the pain go away. I miss that happy little boy you used to be," Bulma whispered to herself as she peered down the hallway Gohan went.

* * *

Well, this was done pretty quick. Thank you for all your reviews; it really motivated me to continue writing this when I had the chance. So here is your reward. 

Please excuse any grammatical errors. I'm too lazy to proofread what I wrote, especially when it's easier to catch mistakes done by other people and not those done by yourself.

Next Chapter: Gohan's training increases as he gets older and stronger. Meanwhile, little Goten is born and a tragic event happens. (Like in every other fic… can you guess what it is? Again, another idea from another author, so don't kill me if it's not original)

Okay I lied about Videl coming in Chapter 3, but I really want to get pass character development first. That way there isn't that big of a gap between what's going on. I can guarantee that Videl will enter in Chapter 5 for the two chapters are a bit sad and angsty. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the later chapters.


	3. The Incident

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. 

_Previous Chapter:_

_"But what can we do to help him? I've never seen him like this before."_

_Vegeta stepped away from the wall and started walking towards the Gravity Chamber. "Leave him be. A true saiyan will solve his problems on his own."_

_"But he isn't a true saiyan. He's just half. Don't you get it Vegeta? He's not like other saiyans. He's different from all of them, especially you."_

_Vegeta stopped in his tracks. She __had a point there. He ignored her last comment and continued toward his destination._

_"Gohan, I wish there was some way we could make the pain go away. I miss that happy little boy you used to be," Bulma whispered to herself as she peered down the hallway Gohan went._

* * *

Chapter 3

The Incident

Let's say that life for the last nine months has been pure and utter hell. Gohan had been flying all over the place to satisfy the 'urges' Chichi had developed for even the most unusual foods. From morning sickness to cravings, these events literally drove Gohan mad, especially from the intensity of the cravings. Luckily today was a day where there was not a disturbance for the last few hours. Gohan sighed with relief because maybe now he would actually be able to concentrate on his training and not have to worry about his mother's needs.

He thought wrong when in the middle of a spar, a loud screeching scream echoed through the air. Gohan rushed into the house again and was not surprised to find his mother in pain, writhing on the floor.

"Gohan… I-I think it's time," she hissed weakly through clenched teeth.

Gohan didn't waste anytime in picking up his mother and flying her towards a local hospital, but remembered Bulma's instructions. Since the baby is half saiyan, the intensity of the childbirth would be extremely hard for the normal doctors to handle. So, she instructed for Gohan to bring Chichi to Capsule Corp. when the time comes.

Once Gohan had landed on the front lawn, he rushed her into the building. Bulma emerged from her lab from hearing all the racket to find her friend in the painful stage of labor.

"Gohan, bring her into the last room down the hall. Hurry!" she directed as she pushed Gohan in the direction.

In less then three seconds, Gohan arrived at the room and gently laid her mother on the bed. "Mom..."

Chichi clenched her teeth and gripped tightly onto the handlebars of the bed. "I forgot how painful this was," she managed to say through her agony.

Pretty soon the rest of the crew entered in on the scene. "Gohan, I suggest that you wait outside for now. It may take a while before the baby is actually born. Vegeta is sleeping right now, so you may use the gravity room to release your energy."

Gohan nodded and quickly headed for the metallic room where he could train as much as needed without having to worry about injuring those around him. The minute he entered through the doors, he powered up his maximum as a Super Saiyan 1 and set the gravity to 1000 times Earth's normal gravity. Immediately he felt the force push upon him. Gohan closed his eyes for a brief period before gripping at his head and let out a scream from all the built up stress.

Light flooded the small room and cracks began to appear on the surface of the metal as Gohan's energy continued to increase. Finally when the light died down, a boy with a darker and longer golden hair with aqua eyes stood in the center of the room. Gohan clenched his fists and let out a fury of punches and kicks into the air. This was a hard time for him. His new brother was to be born any time now and all he could do was wait outside while his mother suffers from the pain. Gohan powered up a little more and began to do flips and other moves, practicing while the extreme force pushes against him. After a few minutes of intense training, Gohan stood in the center of the room with both hands by his side. Right now he was useless just like the time he was when fighting against Cell. He clenched his fists even tighter and closed his eyes tighter, hoping that the memories would fade into the subconscious of his mind. He didn't want to remember those painful memories, ever.

At that sudden the door opened and the gravity dropped back to one. The reason for the dropping of the pressure was to not injure those not accustomed to the gravity. The door revealed a figure standing at the doorway with his hand by the control panel. He was a little short, but tall none the least, with wild spiky black hair, black eyes, and wore a spandex suit. "What do you think you are doing?"

Gohan looked in his direction with an intense glare and answered coldly. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

The man snorted and closed the door behind him. "Come on boy, set back the gravity to the previous level you were training in before I walked in."

He looked at him a little suspiciously. "Are you sure you can handle that, Vegeta?"

Again he snorted. "Of course I can. What do you take me for? I'm not the Prince of Saiyans for nothing, you know."

Gohan walked slowly to the control panel and pushed a few buttons. Slowly the force and gravity began to pummel down on the two fighters. Finally the gravity came to a halt at 1000.

Vegeta stood there with his arms crossed, until the force came to him. His arms dropped to his side and he was forced to power up to Super Saiyan. After doing so, he found it useless, as the intensity of the pressure was still too great for him to bear. Finally, he powered up to his maximum level and stood there panting in front of the unfazed Gohan.

"I will not loose to the son of a third class baka!" he hissed through clenched teeth as he slowly drifted closer to the floor.

Gohan looked upon him indifferently and turned to look in another direction. It was just like Vegeta to insult his father like that, so it was not a big surprise. Standing there for a brief period of time, Gohan realized that Vegeta was on all fours and was struggling to get up. Gohan gazed upon the prince for a moment before relinquishing whatever pride he had developed over his battle with Cell and tuned down the gravity to 400.

Vegeta's heavy breathing slowed and returned to normal. Slowly and shakily, he rose to his feet. "I did _not_ need mercy from _you_," he said bitterly.

Gohan kept his cool posture and walked to one side of the room where he would be able to train alone, without having the prince bothering him. He began slowly, starting off with a few kicks and punches before going on full force with barrage of attacks.

Vegeta glared at the boy from the corner of his eyes. He knew what was bothering the demi-saiyan, but would never condescend himself to give pity to a low level warrior. Stopping in the middle of his own training, Vegeta fired a ki blast at the boy.

An unscathed Gohan deflected the blast. He turned around to face his assailant. "What do you want Vegeta?"

"Quit your weeping and let's spar. I'm tired of your demeanor."

* * *

"AAAHHHHHH!!!!!" the dreadful scream of Chichi echoed throughout Capsule Corp.

"Just one more push Chichi! Just one more!" Bulma guided.

Chichi gritted her teeth and gripped the handlebars of the bed so hard, the bars bent. Eventually, after one final push, a little boy with spiky hair with a fuzzy brown tail emerged.

"H-He looks just like Goku!" exclaimed Bulma as she freed the infant from his mother.

"G-Goten." Chichi shot her friend a weak smile and plopped back down on the bed, closing her eyes while doing so.

"Aren't you glad Chichi? You've got a healthy baby boy!" Bulma exclaimed while wrapping a cloth around the newly born demi-saiyan.

Bulma waited for a reply. When she didn't receive any, she began to panic. She quickly handed the infant to a nearby nurse and instructed her to take care of him.

"Chichi?" she called before picking up the limp hand of her friend. Quickly finding her pulse, she was surprised by the outcome.

"Oh my God!" Bulma screamed. She knew something was wrong the moment the baby Goten started kicking harder against Chichi. It looks like Chichi's body was no longer capable of sustaining the demi-saiyan. "Chichi," Bulma wept as she clutched onto the bedspread.

A moment later, Vegeta and Gohan rushed into the room. "What happened? Why the hell are you weeping for?" yelled Vegeta.

Bulma couldn't respond. All she could do was weep.

"Bulma, what happened?" Gohan asked as he walked over to her. All she could do was point at the limp figure before them.

Gohan gritted his teeth and hesitantly reached out to grab his mother's hand. He felt for her pulse. Instantly he dropped her arm. Dread, horror, and anguish flashed in his eyes. His eyes widened as much as they could go. There was no pulse.

* * *

The funeral was held the next day near the Son house. All friends of Chichi came to honor her death. As the priest mumbled words about how great Chichi was, Gohan gritted his teeth and restrained any tears that was to come.

Everyone wept, except for Piccolo, Vegeta, and 18, who miraculously appeared. "She was always a strong woman," Piccolo mumbled.

"Not to mention loud and annoying," added Vegeta.

"Vegeta!" Bulma hissed through her tears. "Now is not the time for those comments!"

Vegeta just snorted and crossed his arms. "Whatever."

Eventually the speeches were done and the coffin was buried. Everyone dispersed and went their separate ways. "Vegeta," called Bulma.

"I'll be there in a minute," he responded.

Bulma nodded her head in understanding and walked away slowly.

"Rest in peace, Kakarotto's mate," he whispered before walking off in the direction his wife went.

As soon as everyone was gone, Gohan sat by a rock with his head buried in his hands. "Why?" he asked through tears.

* * *

Since the death of Chichi, it was decided that Gohan and Goten go live with their grandfather, the Ox King.

* * *

Sorry that this was kind of short. I've recently got the chicken pox and it is _not_ fun. Stupid immunizations did not work! So, be warned! Well, **ahem**, anyways, I hope this was angsty, because that was my goal. If it isn't, I've got some work to do.

It's like I've said, the next chapter would also be angsty, but the following one wouldn't. Hopefully things would lighten up when Videl enters the scene.

Next Chapter: Life with the Ox King is going fine, until something happens. Next Chapter, Many Condolences.


	4. Many Condolences

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. 

_Previous Chapter:_

_Bulma nodded her head in understanding and walked away slowly._

_"Rest in peace, Kakarotto's mate," he whispered before walking off in the direction his wife went._

_As soon as everyone was gone, Gohan sat by a rock with his head buried in his hands. "Why?" he asked through tears._

_Since the death of Chichi, it was decided that Gohan and Goten go live with their grandfather, the Ox King._

* * *

Chapter 4

Many Condolences

Soon after the funeral of Chichi, Gohan and Goten were immediately shipped off to live with their grandfather, the Ox King. The Ox King was their only known living relative left, so obviously they were to live with him. As the movers set down the last of their luggage, the Ox King immediately had his servants, or what was left of his servants serve his grandchildren food.

Gohan was not pleased with the outcomes of this event. Ever since Goten was born a few days ago, Gohan didn't even dare look upon him. Looking at Goten brought back painful memories, both from his appearance and his origin. Goten looked exactly like Goku, so that only brought on more guilt for the young demi-saiyan. Thinking about the birth of Goten only brought more painful feelings and memories of loosing his mother. Becoming an orphan at the age of 11 or when an infant is something that not every child would want to experience.

"Hey, Gohan! What are you standing around for? The sooner we get you unpacked, the sooner we can have fun!" The Ox King yelled to his grandson across the field.

Gohan nodded slightly and picked up rather huge boxes in front of him. He made his way towards their new home. 'Kami, why me? Why must all this happen?' he asked himself. Then a thought hit him, 'because I almost caused the destruction of the Earth, but succeeded in sacrificing my father's life instead.' Gohan closed his eyes, trying to block out the painful thought.

* * *

'Life for the past couple of months had been fine. It was just fine,' Gohan bitterly thought to himself. Things weren't supposed to be this way. Gohan growled and shot another ki blast from his hand, shooting down a row of trees. He clenched his fist tighter and took flight into the air to begin his training. Ever since the birth of Goten, Gohan has stopped training with Piccolo, due to all the pain associated in his life. Whenever Piccolo did come around, Gohan would ask to be alone and train by himself. Gohan has grown distant to all those around him, even to his own grandfather. He felt as if the only way he could ease the pain is to stay away from those around him. At least that way, he knows that he couldn't be hurt by them like he was when his parents died. He was very close to both of them, and now they're dead. If he was able to distant himself from people, maybe he can prevent anymore pain and torment in his life.

Gohan completed a few repetitions of kicks and punches before landing. 'Another lonely day,' he thought to himself. He quickly whipped the sweat off his forehead and walked back to his new 'home.'

"How was you training, Gohan?" The Ox King asked while feeding baby Goten a bottle of milk.

"Just fine," Gohan replied nonchalantly.

"That's great! Sit down and have something to eat." His grandfather gestured toward the dining room.

Gohan seated himself and ate. He finished his meal quickly and swiftly, without any thought. He wasn't even sure how the food tasted or smelled for the matter. All he noticed was the sensation of his hungry stomach being satisfied. He was so into his own despair and depression that he was practically in a trance. If he's not wallowing around crying about how everything is his fault, then he would only talk about training outside to get stronger.

'I'm worried about him,' The Ox King thought to himself. 'He just isn't the same anymore. He doesn't seem to be that happy little kid I used to always hang around with. Now, it's as if he's all grown up and can take care of himself, although it doesn't seem that way. Maybe when Goten's older, Gohan could learn to love his brother and actually take some time off his training to care for his sibling.' He sighed to himself and set Goten down in his highchair. He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.

The next day was the exact same as yesterday. It's become a routine now. Everyday, wake up, eat, train, eat, train some more, eat, train some more, shower, and sleep. He did all this without the contact of anyone around him. The only time the Ox King was even capable of seeing his own grandson was when he actually looked for Gohan and tried to talk to him. Otherwise, he was left with Goten and the sympathy that comes with having to care for his parentless grandchildren.

A cry could be heard from the infant. The Ox King looked down at the crying baby and frowned, he was hungry again. "Come on baby Goten, let's get you something to eat!" He entered the kitchen and prepared a bottle of milk.

A few weeks later, in the middle of Gohan's intense training, a rumbling sound could be heard emanating from his house. 'What in the world is going on now?' he thought irritably. He flew all the way back home to find it no longer there, but covered with debris. "Grandpa! Goten!" he screamed as he began to dig around in the debris. It looked as if the place exploded from a bomb.

"That'll take you a long time to search for them. Besides, it'll be no use. The Ox King is dead," came a voice from behind.

Gohan gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. He clenched his fists and turned around to face the voice. "What do you mean the Ox King is dead?" he hissed through his teeth.

The man walked out of the bushes and smirked. He was wearing a big long black trench coat over his black collared shirt and slacks. He wore a pair of leather boots and gloves. His hair was neatly combed back. "Exactly as it sounds. The Ox King is dead."

"W-What? How? Why!" Gohan demanded.

"Easy. We entered the building, killed the old man, robbed the baby, and blew up the place. Simple as that." The man walked closer to the boy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a mirror. He opened it, checking his hair, before placing it back in his pocket. "Don't ask so many questions, kid."

Gohan clenched his fists tight and was about to strike at the man when he spoke. "Whoa, whoa. Listen kid. I only carry out whatever mission I get. It's not really me who's trying to murder your grandfather."

"Then why are you doing this?" Gohan asked in a dangerously low voice.

"Money, why else? Listen kid, I get $100 thousand zeni to kill the Ox King, the once evil tyrant. Do I really want to pass up this opportunity?" he explained.

"Why are you telling me all this then? Why don't you just scram and collect your cash?" Gohan asked suspiciously.

The man shrugged and ran a hand through his neatly combed hair. "I don't have to worry who I tell, because you're going to end up just like the others." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. He aimed it directly at Gohan's head. "Dead," he finished.

Gohan glared at the man and stood still. 'What kind of bastard would hire this guy to kill my grandfather?' "Where's my brother?"

The man chuckled. "Oh, he's safe back at the boss's place. If you want to get him back, you'll have to get past me, but I doubt it since one shot and you'll be sent to the next dimension with this baby." He released the safety hatch and tightened his finger on the trigger.

"Just where is your boss?" Gohan asked.

"Where? Hah, don't make me laugh kid. He's in his invincible shelter. It's so strong that even Cell can't destroy it!"

"Where?" Gohan repeated.

The man cocked an eyebrow. "Are you threatening me? Hah, you're funny kid. I don't think so. Now, say your prayers." He pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit Gohan square in the head, but bounced right off as if it never touched him at all. The man was confused as to how it happened and shot Gohan a few more times before his gun was out of bullets. "What?" he asked in confusion. He discarded his gun and pulled out another weapon. "If a bullet can't kill you, I doubt that you'll survive my sword."

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Your sword? You saw how the bullets bounced right off me, so how do you think your sword will do against me?"

The man smirked. "Just watch!" He pulled it out from its sheath, which was tied to his belt, and charged at Gohan at a menacingly quick pace.

Gohan dodged the attack and looked at the man. "I still don't see how it's going to work against me."

The man attacked again. "This is the sharpest sword ever made. I am also the greatest sword master in the country, so you better prepare to die."

Gohan just stared at the man and waited for the attack. It was just as he thought. The man jumped in the air and prepared to chop him in half. Gohan gazed into the sky and waited for the man to come close enough. Once the man was sure he was victorious when his sword was dangerously close to Gohan's head, he was surprised when a hand shot up and caught it.

"What? How? Surely your hand would've been sliced in half!"

Gohan examined his hand. "Nope, it doesn't hurt at all, not even a scratch."

The man panicked and pulled his sword away from the boy's grasp. He swung again, this time to slice his body in half horizontally, but failed once again as he was hit in stomach by a fist.

"I repeat, that sword will do no harm to me." Gohan smirked and grabbed the man by the throat. "Now I would appreciate it if you told me where your boss is."

The man was choking and was barely able to make out the syllables of the hideout. "S-Satan C-C-Cit-t-t-y Fortress!"

Gohan released the man. Seeing how the man began scrambling to get on his feet, Gohan stepped on the man's back and began to apply force to it. When he heard enough screams and pleading, he released the man. "Go while you have the chance!" he yelled.

The man scrambled to his feet and ran off in the distance while gripping his back in pain.

Gohan looked up in the sky with a death glare. "Satan City Fortress."

* * *

"Hahaha! The Ox King is dead! Old fool didn't know what hit him!"

"Yeah!" cried the various men around him. At that moment, a baby's wails could be heard throughout the building.

"Would somebody shut the kid up!" cried the leader.

"Gladly!" came a voice from the outside before the wall was destroyed. When the smoke cleared, a boy with unusual blonde hair was standing, ready to kill. He leapt forward and grabbed Goten in less than a second, which was faster than the human eye could see. None of them had time to blink before they were knocked unconscious.

"I see you're pretty tough kid, but why in the world are you beating up my men for!" screamed the leader.

Gohan rocked his arm to stop the crying from Goten and glared at the man. "_Because_ you killed my grandfather."

The leader smirked. "Oh, you're the Ox King's grandson. I've heard a lot about you. I remember you now." He picked himself off his chair and walked around his desk so that he was now in the light.

"General Tao. I thought that you disappeared right after I destroyed your 'invincible fortress.'"

General Tao laughed. "That's true, but _this_ is my revenge for all the trouble you have cost me. That job I had paid me $100 million zeni and you destroyed it. I could have been filthy rich if not for you!"

"Aren't you now?"

Tao laughed again. "Yes, of course. After robbing 8 banks, who wouldn't be?" Tao looked at the boy. "The death of your grandfather was also for all the trouble your father caused me. Think of it as a little revenge."

"You do realize that I've contacted the police and that they will be here any minute now."

Tao raised an eyebrow. "The police? Why would you want to contact the police?"

Gohan glared at him. "So they can clean up your carcass after I take care of you."

"Don't humor me, boy. I've improved since the last time we've met, and I can assure you that I will _not_ loose again." Tao smirked at the boy. He removed his heavy jacket and dropped into a fighting stance.

Gohan did not change his expression at all. He set down Goten at a safe part of the room and dropped into his own stance. Soon the battle commenced. Gohan was hardly using any of his power. As for Tao, it appears as if he was fighting with all his might.

"P-prepare to d-die!" Tao threatening between pants.

Gohan glared at him and looked the other way. He stood still and waited for the onslaught. Finally it came as Tao threw a ki blast towards Gohan. Gohan raised his arm and shot his own blast. Soon the two blasts rivaled each other, when Tao seemed to be winning over Gohan's, he decided to end the foolish battle.

"It's time to end this," Gohan whispered as he blasted more energy in his blast, overpowering Tao's. Eventually the blast went through Tao and killed him. "Scum," Gohan whispered as he glanced at the remains of the General.

Gohan walked over to Goten and picked up the infant. Goten was crying like crazy and had a slight bruise on his arm. Probably received it when his captors had taken hold of him.

* * *

Gohan had traveled to the remnants of his home and picked out whatever he could that was in usable condition. In the middle of his rummaging, he came upon a dead corpse. He picked up the body with one hand while holding Goten in the other. His grandfather as it appears, was shot several times by ki blasts, due to the wholes within his very sturdy body.

"I hope you're rotting in HFIL, Tao."

Gohan closed his eyes and shed a tear for his beloved grandfather. "Everyone I love ends up leaving me eventually. Grandpa would probably be just like mom and dad, wishing for me to have a happy life without them. Argh, why is all this happening?"

Suddenly the sounds of a copter could be heard landing nearby. Gohan laid down the dead corpse of his grandfather on stable ground and said a little prayer. Baby Goten began crying a short moment later. "What is it now Goten?" he asked irritably. Life has been very hard on the boy. So far, he has lost all his family members, excluding his brother, which now lies in his arms.

"Gohan," came a feminine voice.

Gohan turned his attention toward the direction of the voice. It was no surprise to see Bulma there. She had probably heard the news. With her rank, she could obtain any piece of information easily.

"Bulma," he returned. "I assume you've heard what happened."

Bulma nodded slowly. Her eyes were melancholy and it seems as if she was on the brink of tears. "I'm sorry Gohan. You've lost both your parents and now, your grandfather."

"It's alright. I don't need your sympathy. I'll go back to my mother's house and live there with Goten. You don't have to worry about me," Gohan stated in a monotone. It was scary how he's changed so much from the cheerful little boy they've recently seen a few months ago. He was about to walk away when Bulma caught his arm.

"Gohan, don't go there. Come. Come live with me and Trunks back at Capsule Corps. I'm sure you'll be welcomed there," offered the blue haired scientist.

Gohan couldn't really believe his ears. Did Bulma just invite him to live with her? He shook his head. "No, Goten and I'll be a burden on you. I don't want that."

Bulma shook her head at him. "You're not a burden on anyone. You know that I see you as my own son. I enjoy having your company, you that every time your family comes over for a visit."

"I-I don't know about this," admitted Gohan.

Bulma sighed. "My parents love having you around! You can train with Vegeta in the gravity chamber and play with Trunks like you often do when you come for a visit. Goten can grow up with Trunks like brothers."

Gohan relented. "That sounds alright. As long as we're not being a burden on you."

Bulma sighed with relief. "In fact, how do you think about being adopted?"

"Adopted? Goten and me?"

Bulma nodded. "We would want to make you a part of the family. You can always keep your original family name if you desire."

"Gohan Son Briefs? Goten Son Briefs? That sounds a little weird."

Bulma laughed. "Hey, it doesn't matter if it's weird. You are one of the weirdest people I know, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Gohan sighed and reluctantly smiled. "Okay, but could we hold grandpa's funeral tomorrow? I have this feeling that he won't really want to return from the other world now that you've taken both of us in."

Bulma smiled. "Sure. I'll call someone down here to prepare his body for the funeral tomorrow." She could feel the boy relax under her grip. "Let's go to the lawyers first. I want to make you two a part of the family as soon as possible. What do you say?"

A loud rumble echoed through the forest. Bulma looked down at the blushing boy before her. "I assume after we grab something to eat?"

Gohan nodded sheepishly. Goten giggled as a response. Goten reached out his arms at the blue haired lady.

Bulma picked up the signal and reached out to take Goten out of Gohan's arms. "Awww, he's so cute! He's even cuter than I remember!" Another grumble brought her back to her senses. "Come on, I'm sure you two are starved!"

* * *

No matter how long or how may saiyans she has known, it still ceases to amaze her how big their appetite is. Bulma giggled. 'Just like his father,' she thought with a smile. She looked down at the baby in her arms. Goten was already drinking his fifth bottle of milk. 'Both of them are just like Goku. If only Goku and Chichi were here to see how their children were.'

She was briefly brought out of her reverie by the sounds of a pair of chopsticks hitting the table beside a very satisfied looking demi-saiyan. Bulma paid for the bill and quickly left for the law office.

Within a matter of minutes and explanations, the Sons were now Briefs.

'Gohan appeared to have gotten better, but will he revert back to the way he was later?' Bulma asked herself.

* * *

When they arrived back at Capsule Corp., Bulma called the attention of everyone in the building. Mr. & Mrs. Briefs appeared with baby Trunks, and Vegeta emerged from the gravity chamber. "What do you want woman?"

Bulma glared at Vegeta for the comment. "Earlier today, The Ox King was killed by the vengeful General Tao. Luckily Gohan stepped in and defeated that evil man, but due to what happened, both Gohan and Goten are orphans."

"Aww," came from Mr. & Mrs. Briefs.

"So? What's your point woman?" came from Vegeta.

Bulma sent another glare at Vegeta. "Because of what happened, I've decided to adopt Gohan and Goten!"

"Really? That's wonderful!" shouted Mr. & Mrs. Briefs.

"What? Are you absurd?" yelled Vegeta. "You can _not_ adopt Kakarotto's brats!" protested the Prince.

"I can and did! So there Vegeta! You've just earned yourself two new sons and a month on the couch!" screamed back Bulma.

"I can not _believe_ this!" Vegeta grumbled before marching back into the gravity chamber.

Bulma released an exasperated sigh at her husband's behavior. "Gohan, why don't you get washed up before dinner. I'll have to handle baby Goten here."

"Um, Bulma?"

"You can call me mom now."

Gohan nodded, "Um, mom?" It felt weird to call someone so close 'mom' when she was just plain Bulma to him yesterday.

"Yes Gohan?"

"Where's my room? A-and what do I do about my clothes since they were destroyed?" he asked.

That was true, everything was destroyed. Bulma gave it some thought. "Your room will the one next to Trunks' and Goten will share with Trunks. As for your clothes, I'll see what I can dig up for you."

Gohan nodded and hurried to get his shower out of the way.

As promised, when he finished his shower, there was a fresh pair of clothes on his bed along with a pair of pajamas. He checked in on Trunks' room to find another crib set up right beside Trunks'. Bulma sure works fast!

Gohan quickly changed and went down for supper as instructed. When he entered the kitchen, he wasn't surprised to see a large table with an immense about of food on it. Around the table were Mr. & Mrs. Briefs and Bulma with normal sized plates, while Vegeta had a large plate next to an empty seat with an equally large plate. Goten and Trunks were in high chair with tons of baby food beside them.

"Gohan, sit down," Bulma instructed.

Gohan did as he was told and seated himself next to Vegeta. "We will begin our training promptly after dinner," said Vegeta before he started to eat.

Apparently he reconsidered the event about Gohan and Goten being adopted. Gohan sighed and began to eat also.

Just as he expected, a very large spar occurred after dinner. This way Gohan could train as much as he wants, but the disadvantage being he could only train with Vegeta.

* * *

The next day, the funeral for the Ox King took place. The Ox King was buried right next to his daughter. Everyone paid their respects to the Ox King and gave Gohan their condolences.

Shortly afterwards, Bulma decided on an idea. "Gohan, how do you feel about going to school?"

"School?" He thought for a moment before replying. "I haven't done much schooling ever since mom died, so I guess I need to go back to it. Why do you ask?"

Bulma's face brightened at his question. "I've decided to enroll you in West Capital Junior High. I think that it would be a great opportunity for you to make some friends."

Gohan thought it over for a minute before shaking his head. "I would rather be home schooled. Being as I have been since I was 3. Going to a public school with others now would only slow me down in my studies."

He had a point there. Luckily Bulma had another solution. "But I really want you to socialize with people. How about we make a deal."

"A deal? What kind of deal?" he asked his adopted mother.

Bulma smiled. "I will allow you to be home schooled until you are in the age for high school. I'll renew your permit for you."

"Okay, that's great I guess, but going to school will only interfere with my training time," he stated.

Bulma frowned at his statement. "Train as much as possible when you have the chance now, then. When you start high school, you'll have more homework and will only have time to train after you finish your homework, or on the weekends."

"I don't know about this Bulma. Why bother going to school with others when I could remain home schooled and finish with a college degree without even stepping into a classroom."

Bulma sighed. Surely he must have gotten his brains from Chichi for Goku was too naïve to find any solutions to any problem he had. "Gohan, it's to work on your social skills. Just do me this favor and go to high school when you are 15, okay?"

Gohan reluctantly nodded. "Yes, Bulma."

"I'm not asking as a friend. I'm asking as your mother. I'm sure Chichi would want the same thing."

Gohan sighed again. "Yes, mom."

"Good. Now let's go shopping. You don't have any clothes after what happened and I doubt wearing a gi everyday and everywhere will do."

'This is going to be a long day,' he thought to himself as he was being dragged around the city.

* * *

The next three years were just as Bulma had planned. Three years being that Gohan was nearly twelve when he moved in with Bulma, so that means that Gohan will approach the age of 15 very shortly. Gohan had stayed home most of the time to work on his studies and to train. She had expected him to actually get along with Trunks and his brother, but he had somehow been able to avoid them for so long. Gohan had mainly focused on getting stronger and training most of the day with Vegeta. Luckily he was very intelligent so he was able to keep up with his studies the pace trained him to do.

Now it was time for Gohan to start high school. What awaits our favorite little demi-sayian?

* * *

Gahh, I could've written a lot more and in more chapters, but I didn't want to. I wanted Gohan to grow up as fast as possible so I could start writing the fun. Hehe, finally Gohan is older! Gohan will go to high school and meet all his new friends, I hope.

Next Chapter: Enter Videl, the incredibly stubborn and vicious daughter of Mr. Satan.

You'll enjoy the story more now that Gohan is older! The fluff will come! The fluff will come! The action will come! The action will come! The plot is going somewhere! The plot is going somewhere! Smacks herself in the face to stop ranting. Well, um… enjoy!


	5. Enter Videl

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. 

Oh, I know that this is going to be a little confusing, so I'm going to list the ages of the characters, except the adults because I'm not sure of it myself.

Gohan - 15

Trunks - 5

Goten - 4

Videl - 15

* * *

_Previous Chapter:_

_The next three years were just as Bulma had planned. Three years being that Gohan was nearly twelve when he moved in with Bulma, so that means that Gohan will approach the age of 15 very shortly. Gohan had stayed home most of the time to work on his studies and to train. She had expected him to actually get along with Trunks and his brother, but he had somehow been able to avoid them for so long. Gohan had mainly focused on getting stronger and training most of the day with Vegeta. Luckily he was very intelligent so he was able to keep up with his studies the pace trained him to do._

_Now it was time for Gohan to start high school. What awaits our favorite little demi-sayian?_

* * *

Chapter 5

Enter Videl

Enter Videl, the incredibly stubborn and vicious daughter of Mr. Satan

The next morning, Gohan awoke early in the morning. Running a hand through his newly cut hair, he heaved a sigh. 'Has these years really passes that quickly? It felt like it was just yesterday that I was just 12 and training in the gravity chamber with Vegeta,' he thought to himself. Gohan glanced at the clock and noticed that it was time to awaken. He picked himself off his bed and entered the bathroom for a quick shower. When he was emerged from the steamed room, he dressed himself in the clothes Bulma thought was suitable for him, so she bought it especially for him. American clothes since I don't know Japanese styles Gohan wore a loose pair of navy blue jeans, a white T-shirt, a blue collared short-sleeved shirt, and a pair of black sneakers with his black digital watch.

When he entered the kitchen, he was greeted with Trunks and Goten eating their breakfast at a breakneck speed. Goten was wearing his father's traditional gi colors while Trunks stuck to blue shorts and a green hooded jacket with a white undershirt.

"Good Morning Gohan. Are you ready for your first day of high school?" asked Bulma who was by the stove cooking some more breakfast.

Gohan pulled up a chair by the table and seated himself. "Morning mom." After Bulma had convinced him to call her mom since that was what she was to him now, Gohan could only oblige to her orders. Besides, he had somewhat gotten used to calling her that over the years. Even though it still pained him that Chichi and Goku had decided not to return, but to stay in other world, Gohan tried not to put their deaths in vain. Therefore, the need to remain in his accustomed SSJ 1 form to honor both of his parents, increased. That also included his grandfather, the Ox King.

"I wonder, just why do I have to go to Orange Star High instead of West City High?" he asked his adopted mother.

Bulma poured whatever was in the pot on a plate and turned off the stove. She placed the plate in front of the boy and said, "Well, because I believe the people in Orange Star High School would probably be better for you. I've heard of a few gangs beginning in West City High, so I needed to take precautions."

Gohan agreed with the logic on some part of her statement. "That's true, but you don't honestly think that I will join a gang, do you mom?"

Bulma let out a small chuckle. "You are always very unpredictable, so I still have to be on my toes. Anyway, here's your lunch. I have a feeling that the school lunch wouldn't be able to satisfy your appetite." She handed the boy a capsule and patted him on the shoulder. "Enjoy your breakfast. School starts in an hour."

Gohan mumbled a yes and began to eat his breakfast slowly. He wanted to procrastinate since he didn't like the idea of going to school with others that were not as intelligent as he was.

"Hey, Gohan. Is it really true that you're going to go to school today?" Trunks asked in between bites of food.

Gohan heaved a sigh and nodded slowly. "Unfortunately, yes. I'm going to school with a bunch of kids learning material I learned when I was five."

"That sucks," added Goten.

"Yeah, I guess. Whatever. I've got to finish this and be off." Gohan ignored whatever questions was asked of him and concentrated on eating his meal. Once finished, he stood up from his chair and grabbed his backpack that he left on the couch. He left through the front door and flew to school, never caring whether he was spotted in the air.

As soon as he reached the border of the city, his saiyan hearing picked up the sounds of gunshots and screams. Glancing at his watch, he decided that he had enough time to drop by before school.

It was just as he expected the bank was being robbed. Gohan sighed and dropped his bag down by a bush before stepping into the scene. Gohan could just drop out of his SSJ form and not be recognized, but due to the vow he had made a few years ago, he was stuck in his tight situation. Realizing he had no other option, he shrugged it off and charged directly at the bank.

There were two men with immense machine guns firing at the police. Gohan leapt into the scene through an aerial attack, knocking the two men unconscious by a chop to the back of the head. Immediately, he was attacked from behind with other men carrying bags of money with smaller handguns. A few of the bullets bounced off of Gohan, before he turned around and caught a fist full of them in his hand. Once the shooting was diminished, Gohan released his handful of bullets and knocked the other robbers unconscious. Gohan walked further into the building to search for more criminals when he felt the kis of other robbers escaping with a thundering roar coming from their van.

Gohan exited the building to catch sight of a blue sports car speed away in the distance. He scoffed at their pathetic attempt to escape. He waited for the crooks to reach a safe distance away from the city before firing a small ki blast at the car, ending it in its trek.

Everyone in the background clapped for the job well done. Gohan turned around to face the crowd. Among them was a girl in white T-shirt with bicycle shorts and hair in two pig tails with menacing blue eyes glaring at him. Gohan gazed at her for a minute. Bright crystal blue eyes meeting foggy aqua green eyes. He realized that he spent more than enough time in this crime scene and used super speed to phase out of sight to grab his backpack in the bush. Once clear from view, Gohan casually walked away from the scene to begin his journey towards school.

* * *

He found the school rather quickly due to the bright orange star located in front of the building. Gohan entered the orange building and headed straight towards the large guidance office before him.

"I'm a new student and I'm here to pick up my schedule," Gohan stated to the skinny blonde secretary.

She eyed him for a minute, finding it unusual to have students wear clothes with scratches upon them. She shrugged it off quickly and asked, "Your name?"

"Gohan Son," he responded.

"Is Son your middle name because I don't have a Gohan Son anywhere," she replied.

Gohan sighed. "Briefs is my adopted name. My full name is Gohan Son Briefs."

The secretary sighed, "That certainly clears things up." She found the needed information almost instantaneously afterwards. Before handing the young man his schedule, she asked, "Is Bulma Briefs your adopted mother?"

Gohan took the papers from her and smirked. "She is." He left the rather shocked secretary at her desk. It was never announced that Bulma Briefs had an adopted son since everyone knew of her son, Trunks.

He ventured down the halls searching for his classroom. All the knowledge I have about Japanese schools is that the students stay in the classrooms while the teachers move around. Eventually he was able to locate it.

Stepping into the classroom, he noticed that classes haven't started yet, but the teacher was casually sitting by his desk. Gohan walked up to man and said, "I'm a new student."

The man looked up from his book and adjusted his glasses. This kid has the most unusual blond hair he has ever seen. He quickly shrugged it off and replied, "Nice to have you join the class. Please wait by my desk until class starts. After I get your introduction done, you may be seated somewhere. Your name is Gohan Briefs right?"

"Actually it's Gohan Son, being that Briefs is my adopted name," he explained.

"Would you rather be called Gohan Son even though you're currently registered as Gohan Briefs?" asked the elderly teacher.

Gohan nodded. "Apparently my mother forgot to put in my original last name when registering me."

"Anyways, the bell about is about to ring soon so you won't have to stand there for long."

Gohan nodded and turned to face the class. Over ¾ of the room was filled and there were more students coming in. Eventually a certain girl with a white shirt, black bicycle shorts, green boots with her hair in pigtails and bright blue eyes walked into the room. Gohan recognized her from the girl earlier from the bank robbery, but chose to ignore her.

Finally the bell rang and the chatter around the room was silenced. The teacher walked up to the front of the room and spoke. "Hello class, I suppose you don't know me being that you've just transferred from Orange Star Junior High. I am Mr. Satoya from yesterday. Anyways, I'm glad to announce to you that you will be having a new student join you today among the many people you already know."

Chatter began to erupt around the room once again. Some groaning about how they were to receive some dork in their class, others thrilled to have someone new for a change.

Mr. Satoya stepped out of the way to reveal a young man with unusual blond hair with a blue collared shirt wearing a white T-shirt underneath with a dark pair of denim jeans. "Please introduce yourself to the class and tell us a bit about your hobbies."

Gohan looked upon the class with eyes of indifference. "My name is Gohan Son Briefs. I like to spar during my free time."

"Anything else Mr. Son?" asked Mr. Satoya.

Gohan shook his head and waited to be seated among the many students.

Mr. Satoya checked his seating chart and appointed the young demi-saiyan a seat in the crowd. Gohan walked up the third aisle and seated himself in the empty seat.

Immediately he was bombarded with questions. "Hi, I'm Erasa! You're Son Gohan? It was kind of hard hearing you speak. So you're new here? You're kind of cute."

Gohan looked beside him to see a girl with short blonde hair talking like there was no tomorrow. He dropped his bag down beside him and sighed. He nodded to answer her query.

"That's pretty cool. We almost never get any new kids. This here is Sharpner, and this is Videl, my best friend." She kept smiling toward him and even grabbed his arm for him to look her way.

Gohan glanced down the aisle. Sharpner was a guy with long blond hair who seems to think he was very buff because of his muscles. Videl was the girl he met earlier, the one with black hair tied back in two pigtails with menacing blue eyes. Only this time, they seemed different. As he gazed into her eyes, he noticed that her eyes were questioning and gentle. Immediately he looked away, he did not need anyone trying to open him up. Doing so would only result in more pain and love to enter his heart. He learned that from past experience, all those that he loved has either died or left him forever. Bulma and the others were an exception due to the fact that it was her idea to live with her.

Again, he nodded to show his acknowledgement of the people around him before looking straightforward with his eyes wandering elsewhere.

Videl also recognized him from the bank robbery earlier. There was hardly anyone in town with such unusual blond hair, such as his. Besides, when she first looked into his eyes, she knew that they were different from everyone else's. This time when she obtained a closer look at him, she noticed that his eyes were indeed different. His eyes were full of pain, sorrow, and anguish. They were filled with grief and despair, as if some event in his life changed the way he was. At that moment she caught herself staring right before her best friend had a chance to tease her.

"Why are you staring at the new kid?" Erasa whispered.

Videl felt a blush on her face due to her embarrassment. "I was just wondering why he looks so sad. You noticed that right?"

Erasa took a glance at the boy beside her before turning back to her friend. "Yeah, just now."

Videl was glad to be off the hook since her friend didn't notice how long she was staring. "You know, I think I saw him earlier today. At the bank robbery."

"Really? What was he doing there? Was he one of the hostages?"

Videl shook her head. "Hardly. What he did was something very surprising. He stopped those criminals quickly by himself without any help from anyone."

"Whoa. T-that's almost as good as you. Of course no one can compare to you, right Videl?" responded the blonde.

Videl rolled her eyes at the comment and sighed. Ignoring her friend's cheerful demeanor, she leaned back in her chair, gaining a full view of the mysterious boy beside her friend.

'Why do I care anyway? I've just barely met him. He's probably just another jerk like Sharpner,' she thought logically to herself.

Just then a sigh escaped Gohan's lips. Gohan was in deep thought, thinking about how life has treated him so far. Life has been, … unfair. He had screwed up completely. He had caused the death of his father, he should've taken better care of his mother, and he could've been alert when his grandfather died. All these incidents were his fault. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, hoping to block out the memories.

'Somehow, I don't think that he's like Sharpner. He seems discreet about who he converses with and isolates himself from everyone. Perhaps he's just like me, afraid of getting hurt? But I've gotten past that. I know that I won't be hurt. He seems to not have that fact registered in his mind. Maybe I could do something for him, as a friend,' Videl thought to herself.

* * *

Lunchtime came rolling around. Videl seated herself at a lunch table outside by the trees. Sitting in her table were Erasa and the ever-annoying Sharpner. Videl sighed to herself as she gazed upon her lunch, which is supposedly called a meal. She pushed the tray away from her.

"Hey, don't waste food. If you don't want it, I can have it," Sharpner said as he accepted tray.

"Take it. Eat it all for all I care," she mumbled. She looked around the area to see a familiar blond walk out the doors of the cafeteria towards a tree.

Videl stood up from her seat and was about to walk over to him, when she was interrogated.

"Hey, where are you going, Videl?" asked Erasa.

"Uh, I've got something to do. I'll back shortly, okay?" she replied.

Erasa didn't really buy her alibi, but decided to let it slide. "Okay, don't take too long. Sharpner here might bore me to death."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, mouth full of mystery meat.

Videl grimaced at the sight and began her trek. She spotted Gohan sitting under a tree gazing out into the horizon. He released another sigh and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the stump.

Videl approached the young man and cleared her throat, not really knowing what to say. "Um, G-Gohan?"

There was no response from the young man. He didn't even move a muscle.

"Gohan?" she asked again, hopeful to get his attention.

Again, there was no response. She was just about to scream his name when a voice answered.

"What do you want?"

She was startled by his voice since he hasn't spoken in class. "I um, uh…"

He was now looking at her with both eyes open, anticipating her reply.

His eyes were frightening. They were as before, filled with pain and anguish, which was frightening for someone his age. His aqua green eyes stared into her crystal blue eyes, as if peering into her soul. She was snapped out of her trance when she noticed he looked away from her.

"I um, wanted to invite you over to have lunch with us," she said eventually. 'What's wrong with me? I usually don't stutter when I talk. Could it be that he's making me so nervous that I begin to act weird?' she asked herself.

Gohan shook his head at her. "No, I think I'll stay right here."

She looked at him in confusion. Why did he deny her invitation? She was determined to help open him up, but for what reason, she didn't know. Probably just to gain a smile from him. Videl bent down and grabbed his arm. "Come on, it won't be that bad." She tried to pull him up, but he didn't budge. That was weird considering she was almost as strong as her father. She tried to pull him up again, but failed miserably. Something was definitely wrong here.

"Sorry, but I prefer to be left alone," was his simple response.

Videl released his arm and stared at him in confusion. "Maybe another time then?"

He just gave a small smile before turning his gaze back to the horizon. "Maybe," he whispered.

She smiled at him and was about to walk away when he said something that startled her. "You look better with your hair down, instead of those pigtails." She turned to look at him, but his position remained unchanged. He was still gazing at the horizon with a sad look in his eyes.

* * *

"So, Videl. Where did you go?" asked Erasa.

"Huh? Oh, I uh went to the restroom."

Erasa didn't believe her friend's uncertain excuse. "Yeah, sure. You went to the bathroom." She smirked. "Don't lie, Videl. I saw you go over to that new boy and talk to him."

Immediately Videl's face sprung to life. Her face turned a very bright shade of red. "I um, uh, um…" Her hands sprung up to cover her face. "It's not what it seems! I just went to ask him to join us f-for lunch! That's all!"

Erasa looked in the direction Gohan was and her smirk widened. "Yeah, sure… Say, why don't you just admit it. You like that new boy, Gohan."

Suddenly what Gohan had said to her drifted back into her mind. Her face instantly glowed bright red. "N-no! I don't! I've just met him. Why in the world would I like someone I've just met?"

Erasa giggled to herself. Her friend never acted like this before, so it was very amusing to see her do so. "Don't try to hide it, Videl. I can see your face glow 7 different shades of red!"

Videl turned away from her friend's point of view to try to control the blush. 'I do NOT like Gohan! I've just met him!'

"Videl, do you remember hearing of something called love at first sight?" teased the blonde.

Videl gritted her teeth and looked at her surroundings, anything but her friend's gaze. As she looked around, her gaze fell on the aqua green eyes staring in her direction. She jumped and looked down, her face glowing extremely red. 'I didn't think it was possible to be this red in the face, until now…'

* * *

Gohan arrived home and headed immediately to his room. The quicker he finishes his homework, the quicker he could train in the gravity chamber with Vegeta.

"So, Gohan. How was your first day of school?" asked Bulma who was leaning against the doorframe.

Gohan didn't look away from his homework, but continued to work quickly. "It was alright. A little boring if you ask me."

"Did you meet any girls?"

Gohan frowned at that question. "Yeah, but one girl wouldn't leave me alone."

This quirked Bulma up. "Really? Who is this girl? Is she anyone I know?"

Gohan shook his head. "I don't think so. All I know is her name is Videl. Didn't ask for her last name."

"So, why won't this 'Videl' leave you alone Gohan?" asked his adopted mother.

Gohan sighed and dropped his pencil. He turned his chair around to face her. "Everyone left me alone, just like I wanted. Then during lunch, she kept trying to get me to join her friends. She eventually gave up after the third try, though."

Bulma smiled at this. 'It seems that Gohan might get himself a girlfriend.' She cleared her throat. "That's too bad, Gohan. Say, why don't you just talk to this 'Videl.' You know, strike up a conversation with her."

He shook his head. "I don't think so, Bulma. I'll just keep acting the way I am, hopefully she would get tired of trying to talk to me and give up."

Bulma sighed. This boy was impossible! "Okay, whatever you say. Dinner will be ready in an hour, okay?"

Gohan nodded and turned around to return to his homework. "This is going to be a long school year."

* * *

Videl sighed as she plopped herself down on her bed. 'That was certainly a long day at school,' she thought to herself.

She rolled over on the bed and stared at her window for a minute. "That new kid, Gohan. He's different from other kids. Not just the hair and the eyes, but his whole personality."

"He seems so sad. I wonder what caused him to be so depressed. I wonder if I could help him."

She turned herself back upright and gazed upon her ceiling. "It would be nice if he would smile, just once." Videl shot up in her bed. "That's it!" She pounded a fist into her palm. "My new mission, to make Gohan smile!"

"I'm going to do everything I can to insure that he smiles!"

Videl then fell back onto her bed and fell into a deep slumber with a smile on her face.

* * *

I just got my spring break, in case you're wondering why some of the chapters came out so quick. Sadly, it has my spring break has come to an end, so therefore, you'll have to wait a little longer for the next posting.

Uh, I hope this is enough to satisfy you guys. I have to admit; I like writing this chapter a lot! I should've had Gohan grow up sooner, but then there would be no fun in writing all those angsty stuff. Um… please review; I really want to know what you think about my story, because that way I could decide whether or not I want to continue this. Pretty please….

Next Chapter: Her Mission

See ya next time!


	6. Her Mission

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. 

DBZ Geography – I know that everyone assumes that Dragon Ball Z takes place on Earth, when in fact it doesn't. The only reason why I was following traditions of Earth or Japan was because DBZ in it's own sense was very Japanese like. They were Japanese like from the language, to their clothes (I think?). The only difference being that they don't have the cities or sites such as those in Japan.

Beer-Monster – I know you disliked the way I had Videl's reaction to Gohan clearly visible. Let me just say that it isn't that love at first sight thing or will the romance come extremely fast within the next few chapters. I will gradually work my way there, but I wanted to start Videl out with a goal in mind.

Psycho Ann – Interesting, Ann, a Son member… Hehe. Anyways, I'm glad that you like what I wrote. I consider myself to be a sloppy writer, just writing what comes and not having it planned out. Oh, please have the next installment of Predator & Prey or Da Capo out soon after you're done writing of course. I'm really enjoying your writing and can't wait to read more.

MonkeyHood, Sirius Potter, and all other readers – Some of you wanted to know if Gohan has reached SSJ 3 or is going to in the near future. All I have to say is, I'll think about it. I've been concentrating on Gohan's character so much that I completely forgot about his strength and where he lies. I suppose that Gohan is to the point where if he actually tried to power up to his maximum, he would ascend once again. I'm not sure if I'm going to include a SSJ 4 or anything since I find the appearance of SSJ 4 disturbing for some reason. It could be the fact that it wasn't the idea of Akira Toriyama, or that the appearance of 'monkeys' appeal to me. If I do decide to have a SSJ 4, I'm going to try to draw a little sketch of what I picture it to be, with golden hair of course. Right now I'm considering having the mystic level available to all saiyans and demi-saiyans to take the place of SSJ 4. I don't know what my decision will be, but when the time comes, you'll be in for a surprise.

Another thing, Gohan and Goten were sent to the Ox King since it was natural for children to live with any living relative until it is proven that he/she has none, or wouldn't be accepted. After that happens and the child remains homeless from his family, I assume they get sent to the orphanage, or if they are lucky, get adopted by some one else. Some cases include God Parents, others include…. Plain adoption!

LonelyWarrior – Uh, I haven't quite thought about those things yet. I've been a little stressed out with school coming back since it was the end of my spring break, that I haven't quite thought about things yet. I suppose with Videl's suspicious nature, it's obvious she would recognize him, right? Well, she doesn't right away, thinking he's familiar and very unusual. She will later link Gohan to the fighters at the Cell Games. Hopefully this is a good enough explanation.

Story Weaver – Yeah, Gohan could just wish them all back, but he feels as if he shouldn't disturb them. Being since how happy Goku is in other world, Chichi and the Ox King will have company. They knew what happened to them was to occur sooner or later, so they didn't make a big deal out of it. Besides, since they know that Goten and Gohan are in the care of Bulma, they are relieved and wouldn't want to intrude back into Gohan's 'new' life with the Briefs.

Hm… - Hahaha, yeah, black is the way to go! _But_ since it won't flow with what I have written, I will have to leave it be. Just to let you know, Gohan _might_ drop out of his Super Saiyan form eventually.

Man, that was a lot to write! Maybe I should've answered these questions sooner and not just have one big clog up in the middle of the chapter. Oh well, I will answer questions sooner in the future to help with your curiosity.

* * *

Chapter 6

Her Mission

The morning sun shone throughout the city, brining light to the day. Birds chirped, skies were clear, people laughing, everything was perfect. Well, mostly everything was perfect. For the life of Son Gohan, the wonderful life he once had will never be returned to him. Everyday he woke up wondering when the nightmare was to end, only to find that he was living in reality, outside of the dream world. The moment his father vanished with Cell to prevent the initiation of the destruction upon the planet was the moment the life of Son Gohan was shattered forever. Nothing will ever be the same without his beloved father.

Gohan heaved a sigh as he sprung up from his bed. Today was to be another day at that school filled with hyperactive teenagers. Gohan felt sort of separated from the other students. He did not have the spirit and merriment that he was once filled with. Luckily for him, all of the students seemed to be minding their own business, so it wasn't difficult for him to walk around unnoticed. Glancing briefly at the clock by his bedside, he picked himself off the bed. It was time for him to prepare for another day at Orange Star High, in the city named after the bastard who claimed his credit for defeating the monstrous being, Cell. Gohan couldn't help but feel disgust in going to such a city considering _he_ was the true defender of Earth. (DBZ Geographer -Everyone describes the planet they live on as Earth, so I'm going to leave it to that) Training with Vegeta helped his patience slightly, seeing how impatient the prince was, he had to work on his skills. The prince wasn't much of a challenge once he powered up to the next level, but it did prove as good training when he remained in a low state or level of Super Saiyan 1. He was quite impressed how much his power grew with the help of the gravity chamber and the training of the prince, but he still missed the training by his first sensei. Piccolo had trained the boy to use his senses and not so much of his strength. That was in turn, very helpful in battle, so Gohan practiced everyday after his spars with Vegeta. Meditation helped soothe his mind and all the chaos running through it. It wouldn't be too long before he reached Super Saiyan 3. His power has increased tremendously since the last time he actually bothered to figure out where he stood among the others.

Once he was in the bathroom connected to his room, doing his morning business, Gohan released a frustrated sigh. Life had been extremely frustrating the past 4 years. His father had died, his mother died in childbirth, his grandfather was murdered, his brother is growing up as the child of his father's best friend, pushing himself to his limits to become as powerful as possible, and from going to this school which was located in the very city of that fraud. What's worse was meeting his daughter. That was not one of the scenarios of what his day at school should've been. For some reason, at first she seemed somewhat very curious of him, then later that day, she was trying to get him to join her friends for lunch. What was she getting at? He would never do such a thing for fear of attaching himself to more people he could love, and quite possibly loose. Whatever attempts she had in stored for him to lighten up with the mood and join her group of friends would not work. He would make sure of that. He was going to be even more distant than yesterday, for certain reasons, like his little slip up about her hair during lunch. Being prudent would eliminate any chances of slipping up again.

Gohan sighed as he turned off the water for the shower he was taken while contemplating his thoughts. He quickly dried himself, brushed his teeth, attempted to comb his hair, etc. before going to get dressed. He pulled out his closet, a pair of tan slacks, a white long sleeved shirt, a dark navy t-shirt to go on top, and a brown pair of shoes. Once finished with his preparation for school, he walked down to the kitchen.

"Hey, nii-chan! Are ya gonna go to school again today?" asked a lavender haired boy with bright blue eyes.

"Yeah, nii-chan! Are ya gonna? Are ya gonna?" inquired the other demi-saiyan.

Gohan nodded slightly before seating himself at the table where the two boys were already wolfing down half the amount of food placed before them.

"Skwool was fun, wight?" asked Trunks. "'Cause the skwool mommy made me goes to wash very fun! We get to play blocks and sweep and wisten to story, and um… learn the ABCs." Translation: School was fun, right? 'Cause the school mommy made me go to was very fun! We got to play with blocks, sleep, and listen to stories. Also, we learned the alphabets.

"Really Twunks?" asked the four year old Goten.

Trunks nodded his head several times before returning to his meal.

Soon a robot brought in Gohan's portion of breakfast. It appears that Bulma had decided that she needed a little more shut eye today. Gohan glanced at the clock. He still had an hour to go before school started. He heaved a small sigh before beginning to eat his meal. Once Gohan was finished he stood up from the table and was about to leave when Bulma entered the scene, in her pajamas.

She yawned before saying, "Morning Gohan. Another day of school, right?"

Gohan nodded slightly. He reached for his backpack he threw by the chair next to him when he entered the kitchen.

"That's great. I hope you enjoy another day of school. By the way, your lunch capsules will be by the counter from now on. Just so you know, that way you don't have to wake me up every time you need to get your lunch."

Gohan nodded again. "I better get going now."

Bulma yawned once again before waving to her adopted son. She entered into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee. She yawned again. 'I'm getting too old to stay up late nowadays.'

Once again, Gohan flew through the city towards school without worrying about being seen. He didn't care if someone saw him fly in the air without a plane or the sort. He could always make up the excuse of rocket boots if needed. He glanced at his watch again to find that he still had a good forty-five minutes to go before class starts.

Gohan flew over the city, scanning the area for any crimes so that he could kill time. At last coming across another bank, he noticed that there were gunshots ringing in the air. He smiled slightly to himself and dived into the scene. He landed in front of the thieves' line of fire, surprising everyone during the process, especially the police.

"W-what? How could he just stand there without being affected by the bullets?" One of the officers who recovered from the shock asked.

The other officers shrugged their shoulders signaling their confusion. Apparently not all of the policemen regained their ability to speak.

Gohan glared at the continuous gunshots directed toward him. Luckily since he was very strong, none of the bullets were capable of piercing his skin, or his clothes. Gohan launched forward and forced the weapons out of the thieves' grasp. Once he was sure he had all of the guns in his possession, he fired a ki blast, incinerating the metal into ashes.

The crooks looked on in fear. "W-what is he?" screeched one of them.

The others shook their head. "Let's scram!" Receiving nods from the other accomplices, they scurried off to a small white van and drove off at full speed.

At that moment, Videl arrived upon the scene. "What happened here?" she demanded.

Once of the policemen stood from their cowering position and approached the girl. "We were trying to take down the burglars when that young man helped us disarm them. Then they just drove off!"

Videl peered behind her to see Gohan standing there, calmly, almost as if waiting for something. She raised an eyebrow as to how he could stand there so calmly when this crisis was happening. Just when she was about to open her mouth to ask the blond teen a question, he disappeared. Blinking her eyes, she wondered briefly as to where he could've gone.

Gohan was standing there, waiting for the crooks to leave the city limits as like the day before. Finally deciding that they had traveled far enough and was out of an average person's line of sight, he phased out. Appearing again before the batch of burglars' car, he held out a hand.

The burglars didn't stop, for fear of not escaping. They didn't care if they killed this kid, even though he managed to survive multiple gunshots.

Noticing that their speed was not decreasing, he took matters into his own hands. He held his hand steadily and waited for a small orb of light to appear in his hands. "This will stop them in their tracks," he whispered before releasing the shot.

It was then that a yellow jet copter appeared above the scene. Videl had made it just in time to witness the small vehicle's engine explode. It was a miracle that the whole car did not explode from the gas tank.

Her eyes almost bugged out of her eyes as she had traveled a few miles to find that the mysterious student from yesterday shoot a beam of light from his hands. What was more surprising was the fact that the beam of light affected the target greatly. How in the world was this possible? She admitted that the boy's hair and eyes were an unusual shade, but this was just crazy! No one was capable of doing those sorts of things. No one was, except the fighters present during the Cell Games. Now that she thought about it, Gohan did resemble one of the golden fighters in the Cell Games, but that couldn't be possible. Could it?

She briefly shook her head and flew her copter to the ground. Quickly exiting the vehicle, she hurried over to the burglars and handcuffed them. Once she was finished handcuffing the last crook, she looked up to see Gohan looking in her direction. "So, Gohan… How did you do that?"

Gohan looked at her for a brief second before turning his gaze away and disappearing from sight once again.

Videl rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing things. Gohan had disappeared again like he did a few minutes ago. Where did he go and how did he disappear? Those questions were lingering insider her mind throughout her whole trip to school.

* * *

Videl entered the classroom a little early, which surprised her. Usually when she had to stop a batch of crooks in the morning, she would miss half of the class, but today it was different. She wandered through the classroom until she reached her desk, where Erasa was chatting away with Sharpner. She looked over to the seat next to her friend's and realized that Gohan was looking up at the ceiling with both arms tucked behind his head. Even though someone would do that action, his/her eyes would mainly consist of that look of boredom, but his was a little different. Again, his eyes were different from everyone's. Why couldn't she just forget about the depressed boy and just act like she was before? Oh yeah, that silly goal she had. She would try her best to make that frown drop from his face and have a full-blown joyous smile replace it. As she leaned closer to get a better look at him, she noticed that he was staring off into space, but not that of daydreams of reveries. It was as if he was recollecting his memory, about a traumatizing event or something since every once in a while his eyes would close or wince as if in pain.

She tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Hey, Gohan. What are you thinking about?" she asked, hopeful that he would blurt out the reason for his demeanor.

When she didn't receive an answer, she lightly socked him. Again, she received no response. That was pretty weird. Considering the fact that she was supposedly the second strongest person in the world and she could usually get someone's attention by just a single light tap. Oddly, she punched him hard at the arm. Only when she felt pain creep up throughout her arm, did she notice how hard his arm was. She winced a little, gaining the attention of Erasa.

"Hey Videl! When did you come in? Usually you don't arrive until way later," she said curiously.

Videl shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, a minute ago?" she responded.

Erasa smiled at her before turning back to continue her conversation with the irritated Sharpner.

She punched him again, feeling the pain seep through her skin. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea to use the same hand to punch a person with when it's already in agony.

To her surprise, Gohan lifted his head slightly and gazed upon the person who broke him from his reverie. Seeing that it was the girl from yesterday and he didn't want to have another slip up, he returned to his memories. After all, he had more slip ups, he could loose his calm demeanor and actually open up to someone, which was not something he was hoping for. As long as he was as far away from people as possible, he was happy. No use in getting close with people that you would eventually loose right?

"Hey! Why are you ignoring me when I asked you a simple question?" she asked frustrated. She cradled her aching hand in her other and waited for a response.

She waited and waited. Still, that boy insisted in ignoring her and just stared off into space. Finally exasperated from her attempts, she seated herself in Erasa's seat being that the blond had jumped into hers for their 'conversation'.

"Because, I do not appreciate people who tends to pry into my business," came a voice to her left.

No doubt that Gohan was the one who had said that. "What do you mean pry into your business? All I was doing was asking you what you were thinking to make you seem so sad!"

Gohan looked at her suspiciously. "Why do you if I'm sad. I've always been like this, so there's nothing really _making_ me sad."

"Always been like this? Oh, I doubt it. No one could remain so depressed throughout his/her entire life, let alone 15 years!" she examined his expression. His face was stoic and awaited for her to continue her statement. "I know that you were a happy kid once. Don't try to deny it. I can tell."

Gohan slightly glared at her and looked away to face the front of the room. "You don't know anything."

Videl placed a hand on her temple, rubbing it slightly. "Well, I know that I don't know your life, being that I'm not you." She released another sigh. "Look, why don't you just do me a favor from this headache and argument by just smiling? It can't be that hard can it?"

His hands stiffened. He hasn't smiled for years; a true wholehearted smile. The last time he smiled was right before the Cell Games, right before his father sacrificed his life for his sake. He doesn't know if he could manage another one after what happened. It was a very devastating event that he would not want to repeat, correction, will not let repeat. "Sorry, but I can not grant you that favor."

She was surprised by his answer, well not really. She was expecting something like this from him. "But why not?"

Gohan remained silent as his hands stiffened even more, until the point they were clenched together in fists.

She looked at him, waiting for his response. He wouldn't answer her, but for what reason? She wasn't really trying to intrude in his privacy, only to find the reason for his behavior without having to pry it out of him. So, she decided to ask small vague questions, but even those backfired on her. What exactly is his problem anyway?

It was then that the bell rang and students began to scurry to their desks. Videl noticed that Erasa hasn't left hers and didn't ask to have her seat back, so she remained where she was. The teacher, Mr. Satoya, entered the room and began to take role. "Well, class. I have a little surprise for you today. Today you will get a test!" Grumbles and groans were heard throughout the class. Mr. Satoya smirked at the response. "But, you will not be graded on this. This test is just to see how far along you students are since you've transferred from you Junior High."

A hand rose in the front of the room. "Un, Satoya-sensei? Does anyone get transferred out of the class if they score really high or really low on the test?"

Mr. Satoya laughed. "No. No one will get transferred out, even the incredibly smart ones. The class you have now is the class you'll have for the rest of the year. This test is only for the teacher's benefit to see where you students lie so that we may teach you guys in a manner where all of you may understand what is being taught."

Gohan stared down at the test in the teacher's hand. It won't really matter to him how he does on the test. He could probably ace the test if he paid a little attention to it. Having knowledge drilled into your head at a young age had its advantage, so Gohan knew all of the material when he was very young.

Immediately scantrons were passed around the class. Soon following in suit were the actual test itself.

"Now, do not mark these tests. You may scribble down your answer on that smaller piece of paper since this is a multiple-choice test. Good Luck, you may start now."

Gohan glanced over the test and immediately began to mark down his answers, never giving them a second thought. Soon he was finished while the rest of the class was lingering on the fifth question.

Videl found it odd that Gohan had finished it so quick. She brushed it off as Gohan being one of those students who marks whatever down just to finish first and fails the class. Not long afterwards, Videl finished the test as well. Ever since she was little, her mother wanted her to be very bright and talented at the same time. Meanwhile, her father only wanted her to be strong, not caring how her education was going. Ever since her mother had died of Leukemia, Videl was determined to fulfill her mother's dreams. So, she began to study more and get higher marks in school. She juggled all that along with martial arts, singing, and some dancing. Her mother always loved to dance and sing, so she handed down the habits to Videl. Her life has changed drastically after the Cell Games. At first when her mother died, the house seemed lonelier and everyone sobbed at the lost of their loved one. Not long afterwards, Hercule trained a little harder to appear tough. That in turn brought the people to believe that he was strongest in the world and defender of Earth when he supposedly 'defeated' Cell. After the fame and fortune, everyone kept bothering the Satan family. Always wanting pictures or interviews. She never had a life anymore, always being stalked by news crew and stuff. Eventually she grew so tired that she had to threaten the reporters so that she may have some privacy.

"Okay class, pass your tests up front!" Mr. Satoya said.

Some groans were heard since not everyone had finished in the allotted time. When all the tests were in the front of the room, Mr. Satoya brought them over to the corner of the room. His room contained the scantron decoder, so it was fairly simple for him to give tests and grade them whenever he wanted.

"You may chat amongst yourselves while I get your tests graded," Mr. Satoya said as he deposited the first test in the machine.

"Gohan, why are you like this? I just want to help you a little," she said to the demi-saiyan. 'Whoa, where did _that_ come from? I sound so unlike myself, but I guess that by figuring out his problem, I would be one step closer to my goal.' But what would she do after she had accomplished her goal? She hadn't really thought about that… 'I guess I'll just consider Gohan to be a very good friend once that happens, or if that happens.'

"I'm flattered that you want to help me, but I don't need any help. There is no problem and I would like for you to drop the subject. This is just the way I am. It's not like I'm prying into your business to find out why you are so curious and nosy," he explained indifferently.

She was taken back by his response. He just wanted to be left alone and mope around? That's not a very enjoyable thing to do, especially for someone like him. She had gotten pretty good at reading people's eyes and expressions over the years. She had somehow picked it up and it helped when she wanted to know what her father was thinking. Most of the time she would find him thinking of some way to get more women, which disgusted her to no end. Thanks to this skill of hers, she could tell that his eyes once held life and joy within them, for they were barely noticeable, buried behind grief and remorse. She didn't know why, but she felt depressed when she found someone depressed.

"Gohan…"

He closed his eyes and rested his head in his crossed arms laid on the desk. "I'm fine…" he whispered. Those were the very words he said to his mother when she asked if he was all right. She knew her son was very emotional so she wanted to know if he would recover. When he said those words to him, they were forced out. They were filled with such pain and agony when he tried to comfort his mother into not having to worry about him. He gritted his teeth. The truth was, he was not fine at all. Inside, he was a total mess. Chaos was running everywhere as different emotions rushed through his brain. Resilience was trying to surface, but the guilt always managed to subside it. The only thing he could do, was create a barrier around his heart.

Videl knew that he was lying. His face was not of one who was fine. She wouldn't be surprised if the boy had ever considered suicide. Again, she raised a hand to her head and rubbed her temple. 'Ugh, this is so frustrating to even carry out a single conversation with the guy. He practically closed himself completely.'

* * *

"Okay class, I have the tests graded and recorded." He smiled to his students. "And I have interesting news to tell you, one of your classmates have managed to make a perfect score on this test."

"Ah, probably cheated!" bellowed a few of the guys in the class.

Mr. Satoya sighed and shook his head. "I doubt it. Even on his entrance exams this student managed a perfect score, _and_ he was carefully watched throughout the test."

"Wow, I wonder who the nerd is," Sharpner said with a smirk. He knew that it was probably going to be either Videl or that glasses freak that sat in front of them.

"Everyone, give a hand to Son Gohan!" Mr. Satoya bellowed.

Immediately the class clapped, not knowing whom they were applauding to since they don't pay attention to new students.

'Gohan scored perfect?' Videl wondered in confusion and astonishment. 'Wow, no wonder he finished so fast. He's probably a genius or something.'

"And another student who was very close to a perfect score, our very own Satan Videl. Everyone give her a hand."

This time, the applaud was tremendous, since everyone knew her and she was the daughter of Mr. Satan.

Videl had no idea how close she was to a perfect score or she was that ingenious. She merely gaped at her accomplishment. She looked over to her left to see Gohan's eyes fall upon her. She examined his expression; it wasn't that of jealously, anger, or the sort. Instead, his eyes were a little questioning mixed with surprise. His eyes were deep and piercing. After an intense gaze, Videl merely turned away from him. His eyes could be scary at times, especially when he stares directly into your eyes with that blank look of his.

* * *

It was again, lunchtime. Videl plopped down on the lunch bench while throwing down her lunch tray. "Well, what do we have today?" she asked sarcastically staring upon the food in her tray. Realizing what it resembled, she grimaced. She definitely did not want to digest this meal.

"Hey Videl, what's up girl?" asked the blond, Erasa.

Videl released a sigh and pointed to her food. "This trash which they call lunch."

Erasa peered down at her friend's tray and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ewww… what's _that_?"

Videl shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? Usually the food isn't this bad, but once dad got the school system different cafeteria ladies… Ugh… I don't even want to think about what's lunch for tomorrow."

Erasa laughed at her friend's remark. "True, true. Oh, hey. Are you going to invite that new kid, Gohan to join us for lunch today?"

Videl immediately looked up from poking her 'food.' A flashback of the gaze he gave her sent shivers down her spine. His eyes were so empty that time it scared her. "I don't think so. Yesterday he clearly implied that he wanted to be left alone. You can tell by the way he just sits there and becomes oblivious to the world around him."

Erasa raised an eyebrow. What was she getting at? "What are you saying, Videl? I know you like him, I can tell by the way you were staring at him today," she said with a smirk.

Videl lazily dropped her fork and turned to her friend. "Look, Erasa. I do not and probably will never like Gohan in that way."

"Uh, huh. Yeah, sure…"

Videl sighed in exasperation. "I was staring at him today because of something that happened this morning. You know how there are bank robberies sometimes in the morning right?"

Erasa nodded.

"Well, I was running a little late today, so when I arrived, I found Gohan at the scene. But the weird thing is that he wasn't just one of the bystanders, he was the one that stopped those crooks."

"Gohan did? Nah, you must be joking! That nerd just sits in his seat all day doing nothing!" exclaimed Sharpner before he jammed his sandwich in his mouth.

"Whatever Sharpner. Anyways, I witnessed him finish off the rest of the crooks that were getting away in their car. It was really weird. It looked like he disappeared for a minute. Then when I flew over the car with my jet copter, Gohan was there, in front of the car. He somehow fired this weird beam out of his hand and destroyed the engine."

"Aww, come on Videl! It's like your old man says, it's all a bunch of tricks. No one could do that in real life. Gohan might have been carrying a laser gun with him at the time," interjected the blond male.

Videl rolled her eyes and continued. "Then he disappeared without a trace! I was looking around for a while, and surely he disappeared. I'm wondering, just why was Gohan helping the police, it's not like he's a superhero or doing community service like me."

"Maybe you're just hallucinating, Videl. Just look at the scrawny punk sitting in the corner right there, staring off into the sky…" he pointed toward the demi-saiyan to get a clear view of the boy munching on his 'lunch.' "Um… better make that stuffing his face."

Videl and Erasa stared at the boy by the tree to see that he indeed was eating his so-called lunch. "How can he eat so much?" asked Erasa.

The more Videl looked at the boy, the more suspicious she grew. Something was not right. 'I'll discover your secrets, Gohan. And I'll have you smiling in no time.' For some reason, people who always mope around or have this dejected expression always make her heart wrench. Perhaps it's from all the despair on faces of people she saved every once in a while. She sighed and resumed poking her 'lunch.'

* * *

Finally class ended and the students began to file out of the door. (Ahem, run out of the door, shoving each other) Gohan stuffed his notebook into his backpack and left his desk. As soon as Gohan exited the classroom, Videl followed in pursuit.

Strangely, as soon as Gohan exited through the main doors and walked a block down the neighborhood, he glanced around him. That caused suspicion to rise. Videl quickly hid behind a tree and waited to see what Gohan was going to do, or where he was going. Eventually his feet began to slowly levitate off the ground.

'What?! H-how? He's flying? The last I saw of him, he just disappeared into thin air. Surely I thought he was going to do that again.' Just as Gohan was in full flight, Videl de-capsulated her jet copter and followed behind. Man was he fast! He was flying faster than her jet copter.

Gohan glanced around at the area around him and found the coast clear, or mostly clear. He raised his ki slightly and his feet rose off the ground. Time to get home. He began to head in the direction for Capsule Corp. when he felt a familiar ki behind him. He increased his speed and made a sharp turn, missing Capsule Corp. completely. Eventually he grew tired of flying around in the air and stopped in mid air, waiting for the pig-tailed girl with his arms crossed.

Videl screeched to a stop as she noticed the figure of Gohan half in his tracks. She was going to collide if she didn't act soon. She pulled the brake and waited to see if Gohan was all right.

Gohan extended his arm and stopped the vehicle from colliding into him. Once he was sure that the jet copter was floating in the air and would not fall, he floated over to the window.

Videl noticed Gohan's face through the windshield. She rolled down her window.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked.

Videl began to stutter for a minute before regaining her composure. "I'm flying around the city! What does it look like?"

Gohan eyed her for a moment, his arms still crossed in front of his chest. "Seems more like following me home. Listen, I'm not going to say this again, do not bother me or my family." With that he sent her a small glare and took off at break neck speed back home.

Videl could only stare blankly at the retreating figure. What just happened? Did she just stalk a boy to find out where he lived? Man, did she need a good nap. She felt as if she was going insane, so she heaved a sigh and headed home. 'I don't think I'll try that again for a while, especially the way he looked at me. Maybe I should just forget this whole making Gohan smile thing, but then again, it isn't natural for a person to act like that. Argh… I _really_ need a nap.'

* * *

Once Videl arrived at her home/mansion, she immediately headed for the bath. Before she took a nap, she needed to relax a bit and to relieve her tense muscles.

'What a day,' she thought to herself as she stared up at the ceiling. 'Urgh, I think I lost it. I've got to be insane to actually stalk a person just to find out what's bugging him.'

Life had been cruel to her for the past few years and she's trying to make the best of it, but it's just not working. With each passing day, she could feel the pain of her mother's death amplify and the loneliness increase as her father runs off with other women. She closed her eyes and let the memories and thoughts flood through her brain. Over the years she learned to deal with the pain, but the memories of her mother still tugs at her heart. She could never forget someone so close to her. At least she still had her father, even though he isn't around most of the time. She still managed to smile and laugh even through all the pain and loneliness she felt in her heart.

'He at least deserves a happier life, like me. I'm making the best of what I have and that brought me a long way. When mom first died, I thought the world would end, but then I learned that she was always watching me, hoping for me to live a long and happy life. Wouldn't every parent who loved his/her child want the same thing? If so, wouldn't Gohan's parents want him to live a happy life and get out more? From the two days I've known him, he's never said anything with joy in his dead monotonic voice.'

Videl opened her eyes and allowed the soothing waters of her bath invoke her. 'Everyone deserves a happy life, no matter who the person is. I guess I should've stuck to my morals from the beginning, that way I wouldn't have to replay the same information through my brain so many times and make a decision of whether or not to carry out my plan.' She released a small sigh and closed her eyes, relaxing into the soothing waters of her bath.

* * *

Gohan arrived home shortly. He entered through the front door and headed toward his room, throwing his backpack down on the ground by his bed. Immediately he plopped down on the bed and sighed with relief that the horrible day at school was finally over.

'It seems that I just can't get that girl off my tail,' he thought with exasperation. (No pun intended) 'Ever since yesterday, she's been staring at me like I'm mental or something. I've never met anyone so headstrong as her, with the exception of my mother of course. God, I just wish that she would leave me alone like all the other students. She doesn't know what she's doing to me, she starting to bring the other me out; the me that's vulnerable and easily hurt. I won't let that happen. I will not let her do this to me. If she manages to succeed, it'll only bring more pain to me since all my loved ones had left me. That's the reason why I've never grown close to Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, or Dr. and Mrs. Briefs. They're all going to leave me and cause me more pain if I get attached to them. I know the pain of loosing a love one too well and I do not want to experience it again. It's just too painful. All my memories and feeling haunt me and will eventually eat me alive.'

He closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth. 'It's too painful for me to bear anymore…'

* * *

Over the course of the past few weeks, Videl had been careful to keep her distance from the demi-saiyan. Several times she tried to unconsciously pry information out of the blonde boy, but every time her plan was sabotaged. Gohan would eventually catch onto what she was trying to do and close off completely to her, never talking to her for a few days until he forgot of the incident.

Videl released a frustrated growl as her plan had once again been destroyed. When would this boy just give up his cool collective depressed demeanor and just pour out his soul? Sometimes people can be _very_ frustrating and exasperating.

One day, Videl was so fed up with everything that she just walked up to the boy during lunch and ate beside him. Gohan was confused as to this stubborn girl's actions and why she would want to open him up. It would be best if he were not involved with anyone. No pain, no suffering, and no heartbreak.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

Videl looked up from her sandwich she brought from home. "Because I thought that you might want some company."

Gohan snorted. "I do not need company. I am fine by myself."

Videl doubted his response. He was clearly unstable with all the emotions running through him. She would like to know what this boy could've or would've been if that devastating event never occurred. Perhaps he would've made a good friend. She wouldn't know unless she tried. So, that motivated her even more to open up the stoic Son Gohan.

"Everyone needs company. Being by yourself is lonely and depressing," she stated.

Gohan snorted once again. "I am always by myself and I am hardly lonely." He looked up from his food and stared blankly at the scene before him. 'I'm lying to myself. I'm indeed very lonely without you, mom, dad, and grandpa. It's sad to know how much I've changed and how cruel life has gotten. Goten his growing up knowing Bulma and Vegeta as his parents without even knowing the great people his biological parents were. I'm shutting myself away from others to avoid more pain, but in fact it just amplifies the pain I feel. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. Maybe one day I will finally snap and go insane or something. It's either that or I commit suicide. Now that I think about it, suicide isn't that bad an option. I wouldn't have to deal with this painful life, and escape. My soul would be finally free. I don't care if I go to hell. I deserve it after killing off my father for some stupid mistake I made.'

He smiled to himself and finished off the rest of his meal. 'But first, I want to live out the rest of this month. The first day of the next month will be the day I die.'

Videl raised an eyebrow at his response and the smile that had suddenly appeared on his face. She was glad that he smiled, but this smile was a creepy one. It was mischievous smile, not that of joy. He had something up his sleeve and she had a foreboding feeling that she would not like it one bit.

* * *

Gah… who taught me how to write?! My writing is so screwed up! Oh well, too late to do anything about it now. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this little chapter. I know that Videl seemed a little OOC compared to the previous chapter. Her attitude or something is kind of back, so that certainly makes it easier for her to be a strong willed and headstrong girl. Please tell me if this totally sucked or if it was good, because I'm going to revive and clarify a few things in the future for better reference and the sort.

Next Chapter: Will Gohan actually go through with his suicide plan? Or will it be sabotaged. Only one way to find out. Tune in for the next installment of The Wretched Life of our Hero. (Man did that summary sound lame or what?)

See ya next time!


	7. The Happy Days

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. 

Note to:

Jezika – Kodocha (Kodomo no Omocha) Child's Toy Haha, yep. I guess this is going somewhere like that, although I had no intention for it… Oh well, I had no idea I was doing that, but since some people like it, the idea stays. Hehe :-D

Lance Falcon – Gohan's out of character? Nah, it only seems like that because this is a different approach to what Gohan could've been instead of happy and giddy. It just isn't right for someone to be happy after something as horrible as that to happen. So, you get the reason for that?

Jetforce – Am I as creepy as my writing? Wouldn't you like to know… ::Grins::

ZetaBee – Gohan smiled! Yay! Only, it isn't because he was happy… He's going to commit suicide. Oh the horror! Ah well, he'll make it somehow. Or at least try to make it…

Sirius Potter – More action?! More action?! What are you saying?! The action will not come! No action for you! Actually, the action will come in a few chapters because I'm setting the mood and the beginning for the action to begin! Woo hoo!

Death 12 – Ah hah! No SSJ 4! Instead it's either my new sketchy SSJ 4, Mystic, OR Fusion! Yes! Cannot leave out fusion now can we? Gogeta is so cool! Even though Vegetto is cockier and stronger.

* * *

_Previous Chapter:_

_Gohan snorted once again. "I am always by myself and I am hardly lonely." He looked up from his food and stared blankly at the scene before him. 'I'm lying to myself. I'm indeed very lonely without you, mom, dad, and grandpa. It's sad to know how much I've changed and how cruel life has gotten. Goten his growing up knowing Bulma and Vegeta as his parents without even knowing the great people his biological parents were. I'm shutting myself away from others to avoid more pain, but in fact it just amplifies the pain I feel. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. Maybe one day I will finally snap and go insane or something. It's either that or I commit suicide. Now that I think about it, suicide isn't that bad an option. I wouldn't have to deal with this painful life, and escape. My soul would be finally free. I don't care if I go to hell. I deserve it after killing off my father for some stupid mistake I made.'_

_He smiled to himself and finished off the rest of his meal. 'But first, I want to live out the rest of this month. The first day of the next month will be the day I die.'_

_Videl raised an eyebrow at his response and the smile that had suddenly appeared on his face. She was glad that he smiled, but this smile was a creepy one. It was a mischievous smile, not that of joy. He had something up his sleeve and she had a foreboding feeling that she would not like it one bit._

* * *

Chapter 7

The Happy Days

Gohan flew home that afternoon with a smile on his face. He flew around the sky in circles before landing on the front lawn of Capsule Corp. He entered through the front doors and headed directly towards his room, tossing down his backpack on his bed along the process.

In just a few seconds, Goten and Trunks stumbled into Gohan's room. "Hey, nii-chan. Why are you smiling like that?" asked Goten.

"Yeah, nii-chan. You look kind of creepy," added Trunks.

Gohan swerved around lazily in his chair and faced the two boys. "Creepy huh? Smiling isn't creepy is it?" he asked with a smirk.

Goten gulped and answered in a small voice. "Um, uh… no?"

Gohan nodded. "Of course not. How about we spar after I'm done with my homework?"

At that comment, both boys' eyes widened in surprise and delight. "Really!"

Gohan nodded and said, "So, what do you say?"

Trunks and Goten looked at each other and gave each other a high-five. "Alright!" they both screamed. "Hurry up and finish your homework nii-chan!" both boys yelled as they scurried out of the room.

Once they were out of sight, Gohan dropped his smile and his facial expression hardened. "I won't be long now. I will keep up this happy demeanor for now, but when the time comes, it has to leave." He looked straight ahead with his narrowed eyes before turning around to do his homework.

* * *

Mysteriously two boys come running into the kitchen screaming an inexplicable chant. Finally getting irked enough by the two overactive hyper demi-saiyans, Vegeta blasted each of them with a small ki beam.

"What are you brats screaming about?" yelled an annoyed Saiyan Prince.

Trunks was first to recover from the blast. "Onii-chan's going to spar with us after he finishes his homework! Isn't that cool dad? Nii-chan never fights with us!"

Vegeta gazed at the lavender haired boy. "What's so great about that? I spar with the boy all the time in the gravity chamber and there's nothing special about that."

"But _we_ never fought nii-chan before, so it's really really cool! I want to know how strong nii-chan is! I want to know!" screamed Goten.

Trunks nodded his head furiously.

Vegeta felt his stomach turn at the sight of his son acting like one of Kakarotto's brats. "How strong?! He's only slightly stronger than me. That's how strong your brother is."

Silence followed and the two chibis looked at each other. "Dad? How strong are you?"

Vegeta would've smacked his forehead if not for the embarrassment of doing such a humiliating act. "I've ascended to the next level! That's how strong I am! If there was another level, I would reach it soon!"

"What's a asce- asce-…" Goten started out.

Trunks hit Goten lightly at the back of the head. "He means what do you mean ascended to the next level?"

Vegeta shot them an annoyed glance. "It's the level after a Super Saiyan."

"Oh," were heard from the two little boys.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. 'Great, my own son is growing as stupid as the spawn of Kakarotto. Life just doesn't get any better.'

The two little boys ran out of the kitchen and into the backyard. Out there they began to do flips and stretches before practicing their ki blasts.

'Urgh, note to self, do not get another kid,' Vegeta thought to himself at the sight of cheerful children out in the backyard.

* * *

Videl sighed to herself as she stepped onto the doorsteps of her best friend's home. It had been a hard day of crime fighting for just one person, so Videl is totally worn out. Why couldn't Gohan come and help her out with a few of the thugs? At least that way she wouldn't be so tired. She punched the doorbell and immediately a girl with short blond hair and bright blue eyes appeared.

"There you are, Videl! What took you so long?" asked the blond.

Videl grunted and walked into the house. "The usual, fighting crime. Urgh, I'm so tired…"

Erasa shook her head at her friend. "You're always doing that. When will you take a break and just have some fun?"

Videl grunted again and mumbled a reply. "I try, but every time something comes up."

The blond released a sigh and said, "I'll go get you a can of soda."

"Thanks, Erasa," mumbled the raven-haired girl.

A few moments later, Erasa returned with a can of soda in hand and handed it over to her friend. She plopped down on the couch beside her. "Honestly Videl, you've got to take care of yourself. How do you expect to live long enough to get married, have a child and all that stuff?"

Videl groaned. Not this again. Her friend was always teasing her about getting a boyfriend and getting married someday. "Erasa," she whined. "Not this again… I'll live, I'll live. You don't have to worry about that. And I'll invite you to the wedding, how about that?"

Immediately the blonde's eye began to shine. "Really? I'll be your maid of honor, end of discussion!"

Videl took a sip of her drink and sighed. 'She hasn't changed since kindergarten.' She leaned her head back and thought over the day's events. Gohan had arrived at another bank robbery that morning, in the afternoon; everyone found out that he was a genius, following that, Gohan actually smiled! She could not believe it. The very nonchalant Gohan had smiled after two days with her by his side during lunch. That's got to be a new record for her. Usually it takes her about 3 to 4 days before that happens. Only, his smile as a little eerie in a sense that sent shivers down her spine. She shrugged off the thought and continued to sip her soda and relax, tuning out all the wedding arrangements her best friend was going over.

Why did she go there in the first place? She was better off heading home. Videl released another sigh and picked up her heavily filled backpack full of books. It was best that she start on her homework until the blond was done daydreaming, at least that way she would finish it before nightfall.

Finally when Erasa had finished daydreaming and babbling, Videl dropped her pencil and began to pack her stuff. "Wow Erasa, this time was a little shorter than lat time," she commented before stuffing the last of her finished homework away.

"Huh? Really? Wait, what do you mean Videl? Hey, what happened! Where's the groom, the audience, your dress, and all the pretty decorations?!" screeched the blond.

Videl rolled her eyes at the comment. "Erasa, you were daydreaming, … again."

Erasa nodded in understanding and leaned back against the couch. "So, how was your lunch with Gohan?"

Videl paused and left her hand hanging on the edge of her backpack. "L-lunch? Oh, uh, it went well."

Erasa noticed the uncertainty in her friend's voice and smirked to herself. 'Well well well, it seems that Videl is hiding something from me.'

* * *

Gohan dropped the last of his books into his Capsule Corp. backpack before changing into his training gi. Somehow, he became attached to his father's old colors and wore it ever since the day he died. Gohan pushed the thoughts out of his head as he remembered his father by simply seeing the gi. He gritted his teeth for a slight moment from the continuous thoughts and concentrated on the spar that was to occur.

After tightening the belt around his waist, he walked out of his room in the orange colored gi. As he entered into the kitchen, he noticed Vegeta grumbling something about saiyans not supposed to be weak. Gohan ignored the man and poked his out into the backyard to find his two brothers sparring in the air.

"Hey, Trunks, Goten! Let's start training!" Gohan yelled to the fighting demi-saiyans.

Goten was the first to react to his brother's voice and let down his guard, earning a punch in the face from Trunks. The older demi-saiyan noticed the call afterwards and flew to the ground where the four year old was sprawled on the ground.

"Goten, are you alright?" Gohan asked with concern.

Goten picked himself up and nodded slowly, tears brimming in his eyes due to the big red spot on his left cheek. Gohan couldn't help but laugh at his brother. He just looked so adorable and vulnerable like that!

"Wipe your tears, Goten. Now, let's get this training started," he said with as much forced zeal as possible.

Trunks nodded and instantaneously dropped into a defensive stance.

Goten mirrored his lavender haired brother and also dropped into a defensive stance.

Gohan smirked at the appearance of his brothers, they looked prepared for anything, even though their postures could use some help. He fell into an offensive stance and powered enough to beat Yamcha. He didn't want to hurt his brothers on the first day, even though there _were_ senzu beans and Bulma's own invention of the regeneration tank. He narrowed his eyes and attacked the two saiyans.

Goten and Trunks blocked the attack with difficulty due to the speed Gohan was going. They blocked as much as they could before returning some of their own attacks. Eventually Trunks summoned a ki blast in the palm of his hand and fired it at Gohan when he got the chance.

Gohan fell back a few steps from the impact. He was definitely not expecting that maneuver. He quickly regained his balance and smirked. 'I didn't think they were that strong. Looks like I need to kick it up a notch.' He powered up enough to match Krillen and charged at the boys with new intensity.

Trunks jumped back with surprise and powered up to his maximum before charging at his older brother.

Goten had difficulty keeping up, but eventually adjusted to the speed and force. Goten flew back a couple of feet before landing a kick directed at Gohan's abdomen.

Gohan evaded the kick with and blocked with his forearm. He floated a couple feet before landing a roundhouse kick to his brother and giving an upper cut to his lavender haired brother.

Both fell back from the impact of the blows. Trunks and Goten picked themselves up and observed each other. Sparring with Gohan was definitely more intense than fighting with each other. Their clothes were ripped and a few scratches were visible. Other than that, they were slightly bruised and their hair was extremely messy.

"No fair! You're too strong!" complained Goten.

"Yeah!" agreed Trunks.

Gohan chuckled at the comment and relaxed from his defensive stance. He stood up straight and smiled at the duo. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

The chibis smirked arrogantly at the taller demi-saiyan.

"You two were stronger than I was at your age, that's for sure. I can see that all your training and sparring matches has certainly paid off," Gohan said.

Trunks' smirk widened. "Could you do this?" He put his feet apart and powered up as much as he can until a golden flame engulfed the boy. The end result was a five-year-old boy with flaming golden hair and turquoise eyes.

"Hey, not fair Trunks! You said you wouldn't show off because I can't do that!" screamed Goten.

Gohan looked at his little brother. "Well, we can have you doing that in no time. I still can't believe you were able to do that at this age. I was around 9 or 10 when I first transformed."

"Really? But why is your hair not black like mine?" asked Goten.

Gohan sighed and kneeled down to his brother's eye level. "My hair was black once. It was just like yours, sticking up in different directions, but now it's different. You see Goten, I made a promise so I will not change back, ever."

"Why?" asked the curious boy.

He sighed. "When you're old enough, you'll understand."

Goten nodded his head.

"Why don't you two go on in and get cleaned up? I know that dinner won't be too long from now and you know how mom hates dirt in the house even if the robots clean it up."

Both boys nodded and scurried into the house. As soon as they were gone, Gohan gritted his teeth as a single teardrop fell onto his hand. He clenched his fists and wiped his eyes. Acting the way he is now, seeing his brothers, only brought on nostalgia of the old days. The old days where everything was perfect, not a thing was amiss. His father and mother were alive and very happy. His grandfather would always come by for a visit to see his favorite daughter, son in law and grandson. Those were the days, before the encounter with the power hungry Cell. Gohan gritted his teeth and suppressed a sniffle and more tears from coming. He mustn't loose all his control; he must stay strong. No telling what may come in the future. He looked up, his eyes on the brink of more tears. "I have to stay strong," he whispered to himself.

* * *

Sorry this isn't much, but I didn't want to write too much at the moment and I know some of you guys are very impatient. As I was looking through previous chapters for reference, I noticed more grammar mistakes and I didn't want to bother with writing too much because I'll have to eventually go over it all. I need a beta reader, the only ones I have are Evangelion fans, so I don't think they'll appreciate the job. If any of you guys are interested, you can contact me. If I _do_ get a beta reader, you can expect longer chapters. :-D

Next Chapter: Will Gohan keep up this happy attitude without falling apart completely? And what will Videl think of this happy Gohan? Will she notice that something is amiss with the blond haired boy, or just miss it completely? Can Gohan keep himself together long enough to keep himself from killing himself right away? Find out in the next installment of The Wretched Life of our Hero.

Thanks for reading!


	8. Eccentric Behavior

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation.

* * *

_Previous Chapter:_

_"Why?" asked the curious boy._

_He sighed. "When you're old enough, you'll understand."_

_Goten nodded his head._

_"Why don't you two go on in and get cleaned up? I know that dinner won't be too long from now and you know how mom hates dirt in the house even if the robots clean it up."_

_Both boys nodded and scurried into the house. As soon as they were gone, Gohan gritted his teeth as a single teardrop fell onto his hand. He clenched his fists and wiped his eyes. Acting the way he is now, seeing his brothers, only brought on nostalgia of the old days. The old days where everything was perfect, not a thing was amiss. His father and mother were alive and very happy. His grandfather would always come by for a visit to see his favorite daughter, son in law and grandson. Those were the days, before the encounter with the power hungry Cell. Gohan gritted his teeth and suppressed a sniffle and more tears from coming. He mustn't loose all his control; he must stay strong. No telling what may come in the future. He looked up, his eyes on the brink of more tears. "I have to stay strong," he whispered to himself._

* * *

Chapter 8

Eccentric Behavior

Bulma was confused as to the weird behavior she was getting from her son. 'Perhaps meeting Piccolo every weekend did help him some how. Just look at that smile on his face,' Bulma thought to herself.

The three demi-saiyans and full-grown saiyan prince seated themselves at the table, eagerly awaiting their meal.

::Vegeta, do you notice anything weird about Gohan?:: asked the blue haired scientist. She conversed through her bond with her husband to discover the sudden change in demeanor.

::Who knows? I don't really care about that gaki:: Vegeta grumbled back.

Bulma sighed. She should've known that her husband would've responded like that. She shrugged off the thought for now and served dinner to her ravenous family.

Instantaneously Goten, Trunks, Vegeta, and Gohan began to dig into the meal at break neck speed, devouring every editable thing in sight on top of the table. Bulma grabbed her own plate and ate at her own speed, which is beyond slow when compared to saiyans.

"So, how was school today?" she asked a question directed at the blond demi-saiyan.

Gohan paused in his eating and glanced at his mother. "School? It was fine, nothing interesting really happens there," came his response. Afterwards, he continued to wolf down his supper.

Bulma nearly dropped her chopsticks. Gohan had actually answered her, and with enthusiasm none the least. She had never heard a word with any enthusiasm in his voice ever since Goku had died. Bulma whacked her head lightly and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. As she expected, the pain from the pinching and the whack of her head registered the fact that she was very much awake.

"R-really? That's nice Gohan. Anything special happening?" interrogated the genius.

Gohan shrugged his shoulders and finished off the last of his rice before answering. "I don't know. The teacher is going to assign a project next week, but she won't tell us what it's about."

"A project, huh? What class is that for?"

The demi-saiyan stretched his arms and responded, "Health I think. I don't really remember if it was Health or Biology."

Bulma nodded at his response. "So, you have absolutely no idea how it's going to work?"

"Nope," he answered before digging into the mountain of ice cream the robots brought in.

'Sometimes he's so much like his father, especially now. I miss him and Chichi. Things are so lonely without his cheerful attitude,' she thought to herself. She glanced over at her other two sons who were currently racing to see who could eat faster. She giggled at the sight. Both boys were eating non-stop and had ice cream smeared around their mouths and their hands. They were in for a big stomachache once they're done. She glanced at Goten and noticed the same happy smile and attitude that Goku once had when he was a child. She began to feel nostalgic for the old days when they would search for the dragon balls and go on wild adventures.

::Onna, what are you thinking about?::

The sudden interruption of her childhood memories came tumbling down from the voice of her spouse. ::Nothing you should be concerned about! I just miss the old days when Goku was still alive::

::Feh, who cares about the old days? Kakarotto is dead and I still have to surpass his son! Ugh, my son! Did you have to adopt those brats? I've become the father to the son of my rival! Ugh, how pathetic::

Bulma rolled her eyes at her husband's comment. 'He'll never change,' she thought to herself.

Soon supper was finished and the blond demi-saiyan retreated to his room. Once Gohan was safe in his room, he threw off the joyful mask he had on the whole time. Plopping down upon his bed, he stared up at the ceiling as thoughts raced through his mind. If felt so unusual smiling and laughing again. He hasn't done either of the two in almost four years, so the feeling was incredibly eerie. He sighed and reached for the remote controlling the stereo in his room. Quickly changing the channel to one of his favorite stations, he closed his eyes and relaxed to the soothing sounds of music.

* * *

The next day of school was different from any other day. Gohan had awakened bright and early, wearing a big black sweater with a hood, with a pair of loose baggy jeans, a pair of Nike shoes, and flew off to school.

As soon as he approached the school, he was receiving odd stares. He raised an eyebrow but shrugged off the feelings and retreated to his classroom to avoid anymore odd stares. Once he entered the classroom, he noticed a few stares in his direction. He was utterly confused. Gohan seated himself in his seat and Erasa immediately clung to his arm.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Erasa only giggled and replied, "Everyone's talking about you."

"Why?"

Again, another fit of giggles. She released his arm and explained. "Everyone knows how smart you are! That test Mr. Satoya gave us, had questions even the senior of this school couldn't answer! That's why Videl did not score perfect like you did. My, you _must_ be a genius."

"A genius? I don't think so. I just study often," he answered.

Erasa playfully hit Gohan on the arm. "Stop being so modest. All the students of the school know by now."

"Now?"

She nodded her head. "Yep. Say, now that I think about it, this is the most you've spoken to me since… since I don't when. I just know that you never spoke this much to me before."

Gohan released a small nervous chuckle to hide the small blush of embarrassment creeping onto his face. He hadn't realized that he excluded himself from others _that_ much. Reaching behind his head, he did the famous son grin, which he hadn't done in over four years. It felt good doing that simple act, it reminded him of how he was when he was a child. This simple action brought out his childhood side and the memories to go with it, which happened to be the reason why Gohan had stopped doing this act. It reminded him of his parents, and the mistakes he had made in his life. But now, he didn't care. He just wanted to smile.

"Whoa, so Gohan's laughing like a idiot. I thought I'd never see this day come," commented a voice.

The three blond heads (including Sharpner) turned their attention to the direction of the voice revealing a raven-haired girl with blue eyes, smirking at the sight before her.

"I _must_ be dreaming right?" asked Videl.

Sharpner chuckled. "Why don't I pinch you to make sure you're awake," he said offering to have a chance to grope the daughter of Hercule.

"Ugh, no thanks. I think I can handle pinching myself." She looked at the semi-smiling Gohan and was amazed. His smile had faded with the laughs, so she was left with the after image of a smiling Gohan. 'I knew it! I finally accomplished my mission, er goal, er… whatever.' As she took in his facial features, she noticed how much handsomer Gohan looked with a true and bright smile on his overly depressed face. … Hold it! When did this happen? Last time she checked, which was yesterday, Gohan was still moping around, frowning like crazy as if the world would end. When did this sudden cheerfulness and attitude come from? This is a very bizarre situation…

"Morning Erasa, Sharpner… Gohan," she greeted. She paused before saying the demi-saiyan's name taking a good look at him.

"Morning, Videl," he greeted back. He stood up so that she could enter the aisle towards her seat.

She quickly moved down the aisle and seated herself, dropping her back down onto her desk. Pulling out all her supplies for the class, she leaned back in her chair.

"So, Gohan. What's with the smile all of a sudden?" she asked curiously.

Gohan raised an eyebrow and laughed slightly. "What do you mean? I've always been like this."

Videl was confused. What did he mean, 'I've always been like this'? Just yesterday he was sitting at the tree during lunch with that usual depressed look and state, and now out of the blue he's smiling like a five year old! What in the world is going on!

"I… uh… don't think I know what I mean anymore…"

"Oh, okay," he replied back with a smile.

Just then Mr. Satoya waltzed into the room carrying a stack of papers in his hand. "Okay class. Remember that project I was talking about a week ago?"

A few nods and replies answered the teacher.

"Well, I have it right here. This is going to be a little fun. I know that you've been in the same class since kindergarten or whatever, but I bet that you don't know _everybody_ in this room that well. I assume that you just mainly hang out with your friends and not with others."

Mutters and chitchat were heard from the class.

Mr. Satoya held up the packets. "Listen up! I'm going to be pairing you with a random student in the room. I do not know if you are going to be paired up with a boy, a girl, your best friend, boy/girl friend, so do not ask. These packets that I will pass around will have your name and whom you're paired up with. Is that clear?"

Nods and mumblings of 'yes' were heard throughout the room.

"Good!" Mr. Satoya passed out the papers quickly. "I want this project done in two weeks. This is a fun little project you will get to do to get to know your classmates better. Once you're done, everyone will have to come up to the front of the room and present what new and interesting facts they have learned about each other."

Grumbles were heard once the words left the teachers mouth and once they realized whom their partners were.

"Eww! Yuck! How did I get stuck with Sharpner? I thought Mr. Satoya said that our partners were random!" screeched a disgusted Erasa.

Sharpner slung an arm around the shorthaired blond and smiled teasingly, "Aw, come on Erasa. I'm not _that_ bad. I'm sure we can have something between us."

Erasa glared at him and shoved him away roughly. "No way! This got to be a mistake!" screamed Erasa.

"Well, look at that. It looks like we're partners, Briefs Gohan," Videl said with a smirk.

Gohan nodded with a smile. "It sure is, but I would prefer for you to call me Son Gohan as I've mentioned before."

"Why's that? Isn't Briefs your last name?" she inquired.

Gohan nodded and scratched his head in the son manner. "Actually that's my adopted last name. I'm really Son Gohan."

"Then why does it say Briefs Gohan on this paper, Mr. _Son_ Gohan."

"My adopted mother enrolled me under Briefs. Here, I'll prove to you that my real last name is Son," he said before pulling a picture out of his wallet. He pulled it out and gazed at the features of his beloved parents. 'They were so young when they died, and it's all my fault,' he thought to himself. He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth as his face grimaced from remembering the memories of his family. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. 'I mustn't act like this now; I can weep all I want at home. I shouldn't show my weak side in front of people. Besides, I want to make the best of my remaining life.' He painfully showed her the picture. "These are my parents," he said through forced enthusiasm.

Videl took the picture with difficulty from his strong grip and to take a better look. 'But these are the famous Son Goku and Chichi, daughter of the Ox King and only female contestant in the Budoukai. _These_ are his _parents_!' She dropped the picture from shock. "T-those are your parents?" she mirrored her thoughts.

Gohan nodded slowly. "_Were_ my parents," he corrected.

She noticed how he spoke of his parents were painful. No duh, that's because they're dead, obviously. She felt a pang of guilt rise within her. ….Wait, hold it right there! Just how is it possible that both Gohan's parents had black hair and he has blond hair? Even the eye colors are different! Just how does this work!"

"Yeah… sure Gohan. I see that you've got a wonderful picture of Budoukai finalists, but come one. Show me your _real_ parents. I'm sure that they have blond hair and green eyes too," she said in disbelief.

Gohan cringed at her words and hung his head low. "T-they _were_ my real parents. They died four years ago," he said sadly.

'Oh no! Great move you've made, Videl,' she thought to herself guiltily. 'You've really done it now. Look, his happy face is back to what it was yesterday. Do something quick!' she mentally scolded herself.

"Look, um sorry, Gohan. I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that you look so different from them," she apologized guiltily.

He slowly lifted his head and stared into her eyes full of sorrow. She was truly sorry for what she said since she believed she hurt his feelings. "I-it's okay. I get that a lot," he forced out. He shot her a comforting smile. "No damage done." 'Well, at least not yet.'

Videl returned the smile and glanced at the packet in her hands. 'Stupid project,' she thought to herself.

"So, when do you want to start the project?" he asked, bringing her out her reveries and thoughts.

Videl shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. How about tomorrow? That way we could learn all we could about each other, then have the rest of the two weeks to write our report."

Gohan nodded, agreeing with the idea. "Sounds good." He released a yawn, covered by a hand. "Wake me up when it's lunch time please?" With that he folded his arms and fell asleep on them, substituting them for a pillow.

Videl giggled slightly. She might like this new cheerful Gohan.

* * *

Class ended and students filed out of the room in a disorganized manner. Gohan rushed out the doors and took off in the air, surprising several students as they watched the flying boy. Their thoughts were along the lines of, '…'

As soon as Gohan approached the front steps of his home, he was tackled by two little demi-saiyans.

"Nii-chan's home!" screamed two over hyperactive little boys.

Picking himself off the ground, Gohan dusted off his clothes. "Yeah, I'm home. Now I'll do my homework right now so we can train later."

"Really?" asked the two in unison.

Gohan nodded and literally flew up the steps and into his room.

Meanwhile, outside, Goten and Trunks began to jump around in glee. Trunks powered up in his normal form and threw a punch toward the younger demi-saiyan.

Goten flew back a couple meters from the impact of the blow, but quickly recovered and retaliated. Soon a _little_ sparring match took place on the lawn of Capsule Corp.

"Goten! Trunks! What did I tell you about sparring on the front lawn!" screamed an angry scientist from the top of the Capsule Corp.

Immediately the two boys stopped sparring and hung their heads low in shame while floating back into the building.

* * *

Videl decided to head home that afternoon after her crime-fighting spree instead of swinging by her best friend's house. By the time she had arrived home, her father, the great Hercule, was watching videos of his old matches in the Budoukai. The volume of the film was enough to destroy someone's eardrums, especially with the laughter associated with it.

Videl covered her ears and scurried up to her room before slamming the door shut. She thanked God that she had chosen a sound proof room when they moved into the mansion. She was safe from the insane laughter for now, but she would have to eventually exit her room to eat her dinner.

She threw her backpack in the corner of her room. She will do her homework later. Right now, she really needed something to relax to. Videl turned on her stereo to her favorite radio station and seated herself in front of her computer. She began to feel the tension in her body fade away slowly as she relaxed to the pleasant sounds of the soft music. She checked her email first, finding nothing but junk inside, so she emptied her inbox. She was somewhat bored and didn't feel like doing her homework, so she went to a search engine and typed in 'Son Goku'. She had to admit, she was curious as to finding more information on this former Budoukai champion. Immediately a list relating to Son Goku appeared on the screen. She clicked on the first link and waited for the page to load. The site had a lot of information, which could prove useful for her if Goku ever returned to the Budoukai.

Name: Son Goku

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown/black

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 195

Family: Son Gohan – Grandfather, deceased. Son Chichi – Wife, former female Budoukai contestant. Son Gohan – Eldest son, no known information. Son Goten – Youngest son, no known information.

Friends: Yamcha – Baseball Player. Tienshinhan – 22nd Budoukai Champion. Krillin – Former contestant of various Budoukais. Piccolo – 2nd place Champion of the 23rd Budoukai. Bulma Briefs – President of Capsule Corp. Master Roshi – creator of Kamehameha wave. Chaotzu – Emperor.

Accomplishments: 2nd place in 21st and 22nd Budoukai. Champion in the 23rd Budoukai.

Videl leaned back in her chair and thought over the acquired information. So, it looks like there's a lot of information on Gohan's father, but there isn't any listed on him. That's strange considering great martial artist's children has always been recognized, but for some strange reason, Gohan has not. This didn't really make any sense.

* * *

Gohan plopped down on his bed after the training session with the two little demi-saiyans. 'Only two more weeks,' he thought to himself. 'I only have to keep up this act for two more weeks, and then I'll finally be at peace.' A somewhat eerie smile crept up on his face as he closed his eyes, waiting for his dinner, which was to be served shortly.

* * *

::Sigh:: I have finally finished this chapter. I had written most of the chapter beforehand, so it took quite a while for me to finish the end of this chapter. School is beginning to get on nerves. For the whole month, all the students will be having testing, so there will be no updates until the end of May at the earliest and the beginning of June at the latest.

Oh, and by the way, there may be some grammatical errors since I wasn't able to send this chapter to the beta readers. It seems like my email system has a small bug in it and I need my whole computer checked out too. Oh well, better get it fixed soon.


	9. Peace that is Disrupted

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. 

Editor and Beta Reader: ShaggyDiz

* * *

Shea Loner – Yeah, I try to limit the amount of cursing and bad talk in my fics because I deem it unnecessary and I don't curse much myself. I find it stupid in some sort of way. Just because you can curse doesn't make a person cool or popular.

Tenshi-Hotaru – I'm glad that you like what I have written so far, but I must say that I'm beginning to run out of ideas leading to what could pull Gohan out of his depression.

To all people – Yippee! I've got up to 100 hundred reviews. This is my first fic with that many reviews, so I've decided to make a little bonus for you people. This chapter is going to be longer than usual.

* * *

_Previous Chapter:_

_Videl leaned back in her chair and thought over the acquired information. So, it looks like there's a lot of information on Gohan's father, but there isn't any listed on him. That's strange considering great martial artist's children has always been recognized, but for some strange reason, Gohan has not. This didn't really make any sense._

* * *

_Gohan plopped down on his bed after the training session with the two little demi-saiyans. 'Only two more weeks,' he thought to himself. 'I only have to keep up this act for two more weeks, and then I'll finally be at peace.' A somewhat eerie smile crept up on his face as he closed his eyes, waiting for his dinner, which was to be served shortly._

* * *

Chapter 9

Peace that is Disrupted

As the ball of fire reached their home planet, the inhabitants of the planet screamed in agony as the precious earth was destroyed, leaving nothing, but dust of what was formerly a proud and strong race of warriors rivaling that of the saiyans.

Everything was destroyed, not a single organism or pieces of rock were in sight. All was lost.

Elsewhere, far away from the wreckage, a man stumbled out of the broken down space ship his family occupied. He looked up at the land around him, studying his surroundings before he fell into unconsciousness.

When he awakened, his son and his son's best friend were sleeping in beside him. His thirteen-year-old son's best friend was a girl and a very pretty one as well. It was sad what happened to the girl's parents. They were confronting Frieza for their freedom when they were killed, being used as examples of what would happen if a rebellion developed. He gritted his teeth as he remembered how ruthlessly and menacingly the two were killed. The father of the girl was his best friend. Tears threatened to escape his eyes and yet, he just blinked them away.

He looked over to his son and smiled. Even though everyone was seriously injured, he mustered whatever strength he had left to see his of his family's well being. He stumbled to the bedside of his offspring. "You are very strong, as you've always been. You've put up a great battle. Someday, you and your girlfriend will repopulate our race and get revenge against that tyrant. I also know that you will put a end to those awful saiyans whose been plaguing us ever since we were born. The day that happens will be the happiest day of my life."

The boy opened his eyes slowly and squinted as his vision cleared up slightly. He looked up into the bloody and bruised face of his father. "D-dad?"

"Do me proud, son…" Finally, his eyes closed and he collapsed onto the floor, never to be disturbed again.

"Oh no… Dad!"

A young girl closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She stared down at the dead carcass of her mother and father who had fallen victim to a deadly heart virus during their trip in space. She should've known better than to have obliged to their requests. She was forced to train at home while her parents trained in space, believing that the only way to become stronger is to train with other alien races. However, due to their lack of knowledge about the alien races, they were plagued with a disease that was spreading rapidly in the planet they were visiting.

"Stay at home and train. Outer space is not for little girls," she mocked. "Yeah, right. Look where you have gotten dad. Because of your ignorance, you and mom were killed from a stupid virus." The remaining alien survivors from the heart disease were friendly enough to bring the girl the remains of her parents, since they felt guilty spreading their infectious disease to outsiders.

Drops of water dripped onto the ground as a figure collapsed on all fours. "Why did you have to go? Why didn't you stay home and train with me like you used to do?" she screamed in agony as more tears threatened to spill from her emerald eyes. "Why?" she sobbed and cried out all the grief of loosing her two most favorite people in the world, her mother and father.

* * *

She opened her eyes from her long nap. She was lucky that the space shuttle her grandfather used to escape from Raishu's destruction. Finally the shuttle came to a stop and landed on a planet. She exited the machine and took her first steps onto the Earth. She glanced at her surroundings and pulled out a contraption from her pocket. Punching in a few buttons, the little electronic device glowed and beeped. "Yep, this is the place. This is where the dragon balls are. Don't worry, father, mother, and grandfather. I will accomplish your mission…"

* * *

The next day during school, everyone including the teacher, noticed how odd Gohan was behaving, which brought on suspicion. Suspicion came the most from Videl, who's been observing Gohan's behavior for the past couple of months. She still didn't understand how she was able to cheer him up. She was planning on bringing him to the carnival this weekend, but now she wasn't sure if she should still invite him or not. 'Of course it's a good idea to invite him! It would be good for the guy to get out once in a while and have more fun.'

Class passed by very quickly, which brought relief to students who dreaded going to school. Eventually sixth period rolled around, the period where Physical Education was held for the class of Satan Videl and Son Gohan.

"Hey, I heard that we would actually be starting to play baseball today," commented one boy with short blond hair.

"Yeah, I've heard the same thing too. It beats running for two months straight," agreed another boy with brown hair and glasses.

"Well, I can't wait until we start basketball. Basketball's my best sport and it's one of the things I could impress Videl with," stated a rather arrogant boy with slick black hair.

"You're always trying to pick up Videl, Yoshii. I swear, I'll get to Videl before you do," said Sharpner.

Yoshii grinned at the longhaired blond. "Yeah, right. I'm captain of the basketball team and you're captain of the baseball. Let's just see who'll get to young Miss Satan first."

"How about we make a bet. Loser at the tournament this Friday and our little Videl chase has to dress like a girl and be his slave for a week."

Yoshii smirked. "No way I'm losing two in a row. Prepare to buy your makeup supplies."

"I'd like to see that happen. We'll see who buys makeup."

"Say, shouldn't we hurry up? After all, almost all the boys are out of the locker room already," commented the brown haired boy.

"We'll be there shortly," answered Yoshii and Sharpner in unison.

On the other side of room, Gohan sat in front of his locker. With his sensitive saiyan ears, he was able to pick up the conversation easily. 'So, those two clowns were trying to pick up Videl.' This would be an interesting two weeks of Videl hunting with Gohan intercepting and making fools of the two clowns. He shut his locker abruptly and walked out of the locker room to where the other students were located.

Gohan walked out onto the fields of grass where the bleachers were and walked up the stands to sit by himself. He was wearing the gym shirt underneath the school's white sweatshirt with navy sweat pants. There was no use in showing off all his muscles, which would only attract more attention, to what attention he had already attracted since his first day of school.

"Hey Gohan," greeted a girl with short blond hair.

Gohan glanced up to the person to whom the voice belonged. "Hi Erasa. Hi Videl."

"Hey Gohan," said Videl as she took a seat to the left of him while Erasa took a seat to his right.

"Say, Gohan. Why are you always sitting by yourself during P.E.? It's not fun being alone all the time," commented Erasa.

"I'm used to it," came his simple reply. "So, we're really starting baseball, huh? I'm getting sick and tired of running all the time."

"What are you complaining about, Gohan? You're practically one of the fastest runners in our class, beside Videl that is."

Gohan laughed. "One of the fastest? I doubt that." 'Well, I guess that's pretty good since I was suppressing my energy to that of a normal human.'

"Don't be modest Gohan. I saw you run. It appears as if you don't even break a sweat running a mile everyday," commented Videl. "As for myself, I get somewhat winded, but not as much if I had not began training."

"Well, that's nice for you though. I'm just used to running long distances, but hardly consider myself a fast runner."

"Okay Class! Everybody line up and we'll begin picking teams!" yelled the PE coach.

Videl sighed in exasperation. Just when she was about to interrogate Gohan with more questions about his strange behavior, the PE coach just had to ruin it for her. The three teens headed down the bleachers and onto the baseball field.

"Okay, class. We all know that we're going to be playing baseball, right?" asked the teacher. The class nodded as a response.

"Well, I'm going to skip going over the basic skills and the sort and go right on to playing our games. Does anyone here do not know how to play baseball?"

Gohan out of everyone raised his hand.

"Well, don't worry son. You'll get the hang of it after a few games," reassured the coach. "Now, your team captains will be Yoshii and Sharpner. Choose your teammates carefully, your grades depends on the number of wins for your team."

"You go first," Sharpner commented with a smirk to Yoshii.

Yoshii glared at the blond. "Gladly. I pick him, the tall guy in the back with the baseball cap."

Sharpner's smirk only widened with glee. "I pick Videl."

"What!" exclaimed Yoshii.

"Great… I'm stuck on that idiot's team," grumbled Videl as she walked up to where her 'team' was supposed to stand.

Yoshii growled in his throat. "I pick that guy!" he shouted, pointing to a random guy.

Eventually most of the people were chosen, except for a few, including Gohan. Gohan just stood in line; a little bored, but waited to see which team he was appointed to. Finally, Gohan was the only one left and was assigned on Yoshii's team.

"Great… I get the nerd," grumbled Yoshii.

"I so pity you, Yoshii," Sharpner said with his ever so disgusting smirk.

"Shut up and play," retorted Yoshii.

"As you wish," answered the blond.

The two teams filed out onto the field, Sharpner's team up at bat while Yoshii's remain on the outfield.

"Prepare to lose," Sharpner said with a smile as he walked up to bat.

"Shut up and just play already, you loud mouth!" screamed Yoshii from first base.

Sharpner ignored the black haired teen and concentrated on hitting the ball. When the first pitch came, he swung the bat hard, hitting a homerun… or what they thought was a home run.

The baseball sailed through the air and across the field to the back. Gohan noticed a flying object coming towards him and identified it as the baseball. He ran nearly thirty yards at breakneck speed and caught the fly ball.

"Hah! Beat that!" screamed Sharpner as he prepared to run to first. It was then that the pitcher suddenly fell over onto the ground, hard. Yoshii's team members gathered around the pitcher to see the condition he was in. What they found shocked them to no end. In the glove was a smoky, but rather usable baseball, which was supposedly gone as a homerun, made by Sharpner. "No way…" Sharpner said as he looked up to see Gohan running towards them.

"You did that?" asked the blond.

"Who? Me? Well… It was a lucky catch!" exclaimed Gohan. 'Man, it is weird acting the way you used to 4 years ago…'

"Yeah… a lucky catch. Hah! Next time you won't be so lucky!"

"Yeah… maybe."

Yoshii patted Gohan on the back. "Good catch man!"

"Yeah… thanks. It was really nothing. I don't think I can do that again," Gohan said with a small grin.

"Of course you can! I bet that you can catch every ball with the skills you've got!" Yoshii exclaimed. 'This kid is great! He'll make my team and myself of course look better in Videl's eyes. She would be wondering why she's stuck on that bastard's team. This is just perfect!'

Sharpner glared at the blond boy who caught his homerun ball. 'I'll get that kid. He just ruined my chance of a homerun. Oh well, next time I'll make sure that I'll score a homerun and that kid eats dirt!'

"That's a great catch, Gohan. Now let's get back to the game," Sharpner said with as much forced kindness in his voice that he could muster.

Gohan nodded and returned to their positions like everyone on the field, minus the pitcher who had to be replaced. So now, Yoshii stood at the mound with the ball in his hands.

Sharpner's team had the game go into the second inning thanks to their third player up at bat. Yoshii's team currently sat along the benches, waiting for their turns to bat.

A brown haired boy went up to bat, but only managed to strike out. Next up on the plate was Yoshii. He took the bat and prepared for the pitch. As soon as the first pitch came from Sharpner, he swung. Unfortunately, he managed to make a fool out of himself as he missed the first two pitches. Eventually, when the third pitch came, he swung blindly and the ball sailed through the air for a short distance.

Unfortunately, next up to bat was Gohan. Gohan walked up to the plate and gripped onto the bat. He was a little nervous of what would happen, but this time was different. He wasn't as indifferent as the month before, so he was somewhat worried about revealing his true strength to his class.

Sharpner smirked to himself as he noticed who just stepped up to bat. 'This is going to be a piece of cake. I'll just run a few fastballs by him and he'll strike out in no time. That ought to embarrass him enough.' He prepared for the pitch and threw the ball, letting it sail through the air to whiz by Gohan's face.

Gohan gripped the rubber tape of the bat and waited for the ball to come by. As soon as the baseball left the pitcher's hand, he panicked. 'What a second, it doesn't matter if they discover my strength. I'm not going to be around that long anyway, so I might as well not bother to hide anything.' Pretty soon the baseball was in hitting distance. With his enhanced Saiyan vision and hearing, Gohan could easily locate the ball and swung. As soon as the ball had made contact with the bat, it flew off in the distance at an immeasurable speed.

A few classmates looked to the ground and noticed a white piece of fabric lying on the dirt filled ground. Videl approached this white fabric and picked it up. To her surprise, it was the exterior of the baseball, which had mysteriously disappeared. Everyone heard the baseball make contact with the bat and noticed a white blur fly through the sky, but thought nothing of it… until now. Everyone looked in the direction in which Gohan was in, or in this case, last seen. They scanned the area around them, but they could not find the demi-saiyan.

Meanwhile, in a nearby corner, adjacent to the soda machines, Gohan hid. He looked out of his hiding area every so often to ensure that no one was around. He made the decision to do whatever and he didn't care if the baseball flew out of the planet, but for some reason, he was a little paranoid. 'I guess I'm worried that someone might bother me too much. Besides, if I keep getting bothered, I won't be able to pull through with my suicide, especially if I get attached to someone after he or she finds out my secret.'

A girl walked down the hall, passed the soda machines, and glanced back at it. Giving a glare at the last machine, closest to the corner, she smirked and walked off.

* * *

As soon as the school bell had rung, Gohan rushed home at top speed in the air. This time he really didn't care if he got caught flying in the air. He still had the excuse that he was using a new product of Capsule Corp. It wasn't long till he reached home. He walked through the front door and was inquired by his mother.

"So, Gohan. How was your day?" asked the blue haired scientist.

Gohan shrugged his shoulders. "It wasn't too bad. I'm going to head upstairs now." He quickly ran up the stairs to his room and threw his backpack on the ground by his desk. He finished off his homework in a few minutes, all the while listening to the radio in his room. His homework would've taken a normal student a few hours to do, but due to his genius capabilities, he was capable of finishing it off in less than a tenth of the time. Gohan dropped the pencil on his desk and leaned back in his chair.

'What to do? What to do? What to do for the next two weeks?' he asked himself.

After a few minutes of thinking up fun activities, he gave in and just changed into a tank top with a pair of shorts. He grabbed the big orange basketball that was by his oak dresser and headed down toward Capsule Corp's saiyan proof basketball gym.

'This ought to give me some fun,' he thought as he warmed up by shooting in random parts of the court. First he went for a two pointer, then a three pointer, and finally at the jump circle where the end of half the court is. Every time he shot the ball, he was able to make a swish. Eventually, he went up to do a couple of lay ups when Vegeta walked through the doors.

"How odd. You're not training in the gravity chamber with me like you usually do. Is there something wrong with you, boy?" asked the Prince of Saiyans.

Gohan twirled the basketball on one finger for a moment before replying, "I'm fine, Dad. I just wanted to play a little ball and take a break from training for a while."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Take a little break, huh? That doesn't sound like you, Gohan. Last time I spoke to you during our training, which was just two days ago, you were absolutely crazy about getting stronger."

Gohan stopped twirling the ball on his finger and said, "Well, that is true, but I just wanted to do other things for a while before going back to training."

Vegeta scoffed. "Sure you do. You'll probably never return to your training if you keep this up."

"I doubt it. Can't I have a little fun once in a while?" asked Gohan.

"I'll let you have your little fun time only if you show me the extent of your strength. If it is enough to satisfy me, then I'll play this game – basketball – with you. Deal?" Vegeta said with a smirk. The only reason he was even making this offer was because of his curiosity about Gohan's strength. Never once did Gohan return to his normal state, or ascend to level two. He always remained in level one, even though he was incredibly strong. Vegeta could tell that Gohan was slightly stronger than himself since Vegeta occasionally trained in his normal state, which increased his powers when he transformed into a Super Saiyan.

Gohan thought this over for a very short amount of time. It would be nice having Vegeta play a game of basketball with him; after all, the only thing he ever did with Vegeta was train in the gravity chamber. Vegeta is Gohan's new father after Goku's unfortunate death, so he believed that they should do some father-son activities, not just a simple spar and a small conversation. "Deal. But first show me your power. I want to see how I match up with you. Even though I have been training with you, I don't think that I'm that much stronger. Besides, it would be nice knowing how much power you've got."

Vegeta smirked at his reply. "Gladly." He dropped down into a slight crouch to keep his balance for when he began to power up. Slowly energy from Vegeta began to emit from his body, showed by the clear ki flare. Gradually as he transformed, the ki flare changed into a golden aura surrounding his body. His body grew stiff and the muscle mass increased, creating a bulky appearance for the man. Little pieces of dirt and rocks began to fly in the air until a massive golden aura surrounded the prince. Then, he ascended. He went to level two and still the power up continued. The ground shook slightly from the power and lightning appeared around Vegeta's body. He continued to power up until he was at his limit. He relaxed his body and the muscles shrunk back to normal size from the overly bulky size it once was in. "There you have it. Now it's your turn."

Gohan gawked at Vegeta. It seems his power had increased a lot since the Cell Games. Vegeta was now stronger than he was when he fought Cell. "That's amazing, Vegeta!" he exclaimed.

'What's with the kid? Suddenly he's all happy and annoying like his father when he was as calm as the seas for the past four years. This is really odd. I don't know how I seemed to miss this for the past two weeks until I started talking to him instead of demanding that he fight harder.'

Gohan dropped the basketball and quickly ascended to level two. "There."

"That's not your full power," Vegeta stated calmly.

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked in confusion.

"I can still sense that you are holding back some of your powers, even though you may not know of it. Now hurry up and power up to your maximum!"

"Are you sure?" Gohan asked. Vegeta shot him a glare, which shut Gohan up. "Okay… Here goes nothing." He clenched his hands into fists and began to power up even more, until the golden flare around his body stopped growing in size. Instead, Gohan's muscles remained the same size; his eyes had his pupils return, his eyebrows disappear, and his rather spiky hair grow out past his waist. The process took all of five minutes to go through since the slow power up to the next level took a great amount of power and time. Once he was finished, Gohan dropped to his knees and breathed heavily while sweat trickled down his body, as going to the next level took a great amount of power and strength from his body.

"A-amazing… you ascended to the next level, beyond the second level," Vegeta said slowly, still in disbelief.

"I wouldn't have gotten to the next level if it weren't for you pushing for me to power up to my maximum," Gohan said with a slight laugh.

"Awesome. It's just awesome, the amount of power you are producing. Looks like there's another level of Super Saiyan I have to work for."

Gohan continued his laugh and powered back down to Super Saiyan. "Come on, Dad. You said that if I satisfied you with my power, you would play a game of basketball with me."

"When did I say that!?"

Gohan looked at the older man in confusion. "But, but… you just said…"

During the time that he was mumbling, Vegeta grabbed the basketball from Gohan's hands and made a lay up. "Looks like it's 2-0," he said with a smirk.

"Hey!"

* * *

Videl came back from the mall after a shopping trip with Erasa. "Why is it that every time I say that I'm never going shopping with Erasa again, I always end up going the next time?" Videl mumbled to herself.

"Did you say something, Videl?" asked the blond.

"Yeah, I'm wondering why your trips to the mall are always hell for me!" Videl said with a grin.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all! Come on, let's get home before my father throws a tantrum," said Videl.

Erasa nodded in agreement and followed her friend. "Say… Videl, are you going to bring anyone to the carnival this weekend? I know that Sharpner is dying to go with you."

Videl shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I was thinking of asking Gohan to go since he was so depressed and all, but apparently he isn't anymore. So I don't know if I should still ask him to go."

"Ask him! It would be nice to hang around with Gohan," said Erasa.

"Wait, just why do you want Gohan to go anyways? I mean I have a reason. I wanted to cheer him up a bit since I don't like to see people with frowns on their faces. However, I don't know what's your reason is for wanting Gohan to go."

Erasa stopped in her tracks in the middle of the road. "Well… I um…"

"I'm waiting," Videl said impatiently.

"I sort of like him…"

"Sort of like him? Are you feeling okay Erasa? I thought you were still with Daisuke. You know that other guys are off limits as long as you two are together."

"Well… I kind of broke up with Daisuke two days ago. He was really getting on my nerves and we have absolutely nothing in common," responded the blond.

"Then why did you get with him?" inquired Videl.

The girls resumed their walk back home, continuing with their discussion. "I don't know. I thought he was cute, but now that I think about it… he isn't really that cute compared to Gohan."

Videl would've face faulted, but restrained herself. This was just like her friend to say something like that. "Whatever Erasa. So, are you going to come watch the school Martial Arts Tournament with me this Friday?"

"Martial Arts? No way! Everybody gets all bloody and stuff!"

"Come on Erasa. I'm going to compete. I would love it if you would come and watch," pleaded Videl.

"I don't know about all the fighting, but since my best friend is competing, I'll go watch."

"Thanks Erasa. You're the best."

"Of course! Hey, let's get back to my place faster. I'm just dying to try on my new clothes!"

"Yeah… all ten bags of them," said Videl as she looked at the amount of clothes in her best friend's hands.

"What are you talking about? You have a couple bags yourself," said Erasa.

Videl sighed. "That's true, but not all of contents are clothes for your information."

* * *

The next day at school, the teacher announced that Orange Star High School's Martial Arts Tournament was to take place next Friday. Everyone was excited, especially because of the fact that Mr. Satan was coming to watch their performance and was offering to teach students that had some potential.

'This is perfect! I've been taking lessons from Mr. Satan and I'm certain to kick that idiot Yoshii's butt,' Sharpner thought to himself deviously. He flexed a few of his arms muscle to assure himself that victory was his.

Meanwhile, in the other side of the classroom, similar thoughts were running through a certain raven-haired fellow. 'Wonderful. With all the private lessons Mr. Satan has been giving me, I will surely kick that moron Sharpner's behind.' Yoshii thought to himself with a smirk.

Elsewhere, Gohan sat at his desk with a small smile to his face. 'So, Mr. Satan is planning on coming to our school's little Martial Arts Tournament. This should prove interesting. I wonder if I should enter…'

'Oh no, Dad is coming? This has got to be a nightmare. He's going to embarrass me… again,' Videl thought. She groaned and slumped down in her seat.

"Wow, Videl. It's going to be awesome since your dad is coming this year," Erasa said to her friend.

Videl groaned and replied, "It isn't going to be good. The only reason he's coming is because I'm competing and he needs new students for his dojo. I wish he would just stay home for once instead of embarrassing me like crazy."

"It's not that bad. I mean, he came to other school events before."

"That's beside the point. You see, when I go up to fight, he's going to go crazy if I get even a little scratch and will force me to throw the fight. It's really embarrassing when that happens. That happened last year when you took a trip to Hawaii. Thank God you weren't there."

"Okay, class. Enough chitchat. If you are planning to participate in the tournament, please head to the main office and sign up there. Now, let's get back to the lesson," said Mr. Satoya.

* * *

Videl was walking through the halls with Erasa before they stopped in front of the main office. She walked into the room and grabbed a registration sheet for the tournament.

"So, you're still entering? Even after what your father did to you last year?" asked Erasa.

Videl nodded. "Of course. I've just got to make sure that I can convince the judges to allow me to stay in the fight and to restrain my dad." She scribbled down the needed information and dropped it down a slit in the box hanging beside it. Videl grabbed another registration sheet and scribbled down the name 'Son Gohan'.

"What's this? You're entering Gohan? What are you doing that for?" inquired Erasa.

"You'll see," responded Videl. She handed the sheet to the secretary and explained to her that Son Gohan had asked for her to help him sign up since he was busy. The secretary nodded in understanding and filled out the rest of the form before dropping it in the box.

* * *

Gohan arrived home shortly after school ended and plopped down on his bed. 'There's the World's Martial Arts Tournament coming up Sunday. Hmm… It would be nice to die right after the World Martial Arts Tournament.'

"Onii-chan!!" cried two chibi demi-saiyans.

Gohan picked himself off his bed and turned to the direction of the voice. "What is it Trunks and Goten?"

"We wanna train! We wanna train!" they squealed.

"Train? What happened to training with dad when I was at school?" asked Gohan.

"We don't wanna train with dad. We wanna train with you, nii-chan. It's much funner!" yelled Goten.

"Is it because dad goes rougher on you than I do?" asked Gohan.

Trunks closed his mouth and answered, "Well… Yes! Please train with us!"

"Please……!!!" pleaded the two chibis.

"Alright, alright. Just let me finish my homework. I'll go train with you in fifteen minutes," answered Gohan.

"Yippee!" cheered the two demi-saiyans.

Gohan couldn't help but laugh at their cheerful personalities and cheers. 'Do I really want to leave this when I leave? Should I reconsider my decision? No, what I decided is final.'

* * *

In Other World, the Son family was seated at a table eating like there was no tomorrow.

"Goku, would you mind if I spoke?" asked the Grand Kai.

Goku, being the man he is, tuned out everything when he eats. Instead of listening to what the Grand Kai had to say, he picked up another drumstick and began eating.

"Goku!!" screamed King Kai as he pulled the drumstick from Goku's grip.

"Hey! Give that back!" whined the saiyan.

"Goku, listen to the man or else I'll have to teach you manners again," warned Chichi. When she says 'teach you manners' she means beating and yelling at you like crazy and you eventually oblige and obey what she says.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good boy."

"As I was saying Goku… Earth is holding another Martial Arts Tournament Sunday. I know that you absolutely love to fight after your little battle with Pikkon. Anyways, I'm granting you a chance to go back to Earth for two days because of your sacrifice. Do whatever you want on Saturday, but I expect you to bring home the medal stating that you are the champion. If you don't… I'll whip you into better shape before you can say kamehameha." 'Wait, what did I say? There's no way I could keep up with Goku, let alone train him… Oh man, I am so screwed.'

"Oh wow! I can't wait to go back!" exclaimed Goku. He then yanked the drumstick back from King Kai's grip and resumed eating.

"And what about me?!" 'asked' Chichi with a huge frying pan in her hand.

"Y-you may go too if you like," squeaked the Grand Kai.

"That is absolutely marvelous! I'll be able to visit Gohan and Goten!"

"Yo, pops. Would you like to go too?" Grand Kai asked the Ox King.

The Ox King shook his head. "Nah, I think I'll stay here. This is my home now. Besides, I would've died anyway, so either way, I'd still be up here."

"But wouldn't you like to go back to visit?" asked King Kai.

"I would, but another time. Right now, I just want to relax and have some fun."

* * *

Pretty soon a week passed and Friday has come. Gohan has only a week and a few more days of his life left and decided to watch the school's martial arts tournament. That day, Gohan came to school dressed in a black T-shirt with a pair of blue shoes to go with his black sneakers. Gohan's 'family' also came to watch and was permitted with guest passes.

As Gohan strolled down the field to the bleachers where the tournament was taking place, he quickly noticed that the place was packed. Gohan scratched his head, not knowing what to do now that the seats were all taken.

"I guess we'll have to stand in the back or something," Gohan said to Bulma.

"Afraid so, but it wouldn't matter to you saiyans. You four have enhanced vision."

Vegeta smirked. "I could get us front row seats easily, with lots of leg room as well."

"Oh no you don't Vegeta! You will not threaten people to get seats! Do you know how much I have to pay for the damages you cause whenever we go out in public!" screeched Bulma.

"So what, onna. It's not like you're poor or anything," retorted Vegeta.

"Poor? Poor? I'll be poor by the end of this year if you keep up your little tirade wherever you go! You are so impossible Vegeta!"

Gohan slapped a hand over his face. Did this always have to happen wherever they go?

"Say, isn't that Bulma Briefs?" came a voice.

Gohan removed the hand from his face and turned toward the origin of the voice. "So, you know about my mother?" Gohan asked the person.

The girl stiffened immediately. A very cute, hot blond boy was talking to her, and the best part of that was he is the son of the famous scientist Bulma Briefs. The girl's eyes closed and she fainted. The girl's friend caught her before she hit the ground.

"Um… was it something I said?" he asked in confusion.

The people around the area hurriedly stood up from their seats and went in search of finding new seats.

"Mommy, why are all the people running away?" asked Goten.

Bulma shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, Goten."

"Cool! Now we get front row, center! Awesome!" yelled Trunks as he raced toward the seats.

Gohan took a seat next to his family after the unconscious girl's friend dragged her away. "That's kind of weird you know. Usually people would be jumping all over the place, waiting in line for mom's autograph," he mused.

He was taken out of his thoughts by an announcement. "Boys and girls, we are proud to host our annual Orange Star High School Martial Arts Tournament once again. Only this time, we have the great and marvelous Mr. Satan joining us today!"

The crowd went wild by the mention of the name, minus a group of saiyans, a blue-haired scientist, and a raven-haired girl with pigtails.

"As you have all heard, Mr. Satan has agreed to watch our tournament and recruit new students to the Satan dojo! I hope you all do your best!" yelled the principal.

Once again, the crowd roared to life.

Vegeta could only gag in disgust. How could such a weak and pathetic human gain such praise and attention?

"We have our list of fighters right here: a total of sixteen fighters ready for our first eight matches. When I call your name, come up to draw a number, which will determine your opponent and the match you fight in. Good luck challengers!"

"Amagawa Yoshii."

"Pencil Sharpner."

It went like that with all of the students until Videl was summoned. "Satan Videl."

Videl strolled up to where she would be assigned a number.

"And finally, our last contestant, Briefs Gohan!" yelled the principal.

"Me?!!" screeched Gohan.

"I didn't know that you signed up for the school's martial arts tournament," Bulma said to her eldest son.

"I didn't know either," replied the bewildered boy.

"Briefs Gohan, please come up!" said the principal.

Gohan sighed and stood up. He walked to the ring and was given the last number available. It was just his luck; he was in the last match. 'Just how did I get into this anyway?' Gohan asked himself. He looked over to where Videl was and he noticed that she had a smirk on her face as she looked in his direction.

"You did this didn't you?" asked Gohan.

Videl nodded. "Let's just say we're going to have some fun kicking some butt in today's tournament. Right, Son Gohan, the son of Son Goku?"

He reeled back, slightly shocked. "What? How did you? Ah, forget it."

"Let's get the Tournament going!" yelled the principal before he announced the competitors of the first match.

'This should be interesting,' Vegeta mused to himself. 'I can tell that Gohan's going to have a little trouble restraining his power when in combat, which only brings trouble for him, but more amusement for me.'

"Go Gohan!" chanted the two chibis.

Mr. Satan sat in his lounge chair and calmly sipped his drink. "My Videl is going to dominate this tournament, but if she gets hurt, Daddy will beat the guy up for her."

Soon, the matches got on their way. Sharpner was paired up with Yoshii in the second fight. Gohan was paired up with some girl, other than Videl. Videl was paired up with a fat boy who looked to becoming a sumo wrestler.

The first match passed by rather quickly as the winner won through good fortune. Now, the second match was about to take place. Sharpner stepped onto the ring and smirked to himself as he glared at his opponent standing on the other side of the ring.

"Are you ready to have your ass kicked, Yoshii?" asked the blond.

Yoshii laughed. "Be ready to eat up all your words." He charged at his opponent and gave a blow to his opponent's head.

Sharpner stumbled back from the impact of the attack, but quickly regained his balance and dropped into a defensive stance as Yoshii continued his assault. After having a seriously bruised arm from all the blocking, Sharpner kicked Yoshii in the stomach causing the black haired boy to double over in pain. Just as Sharpner was preparing to claim victory, Yoshii grabbed the blonde's leg, pulling him to the ground as well. Sharpner gritted his teeth and tried to stand up, but was kicked in the face as Yoshii got on his feet. Sharpner clutched his face in pain and attacked blindly. He knew that there was no way he's going to loose two times in a row. He lost the first time against Yoshii thanks to having Gohan on his team, but this time was different. He should be able to dominate his opponent; after all, he's had a great deal of training from Mr. Satan.

"I'll defeat you, Amagawa!" yelled Sharpner.

Yoshii smirked to himself as he dodged the blonde's failed punches and kicks. "I'd like to see you try, Pencil."

Sharpner let go of his face and noticed a blur – supposedly Yoshii – to his left. Sharpner kicked the figure as hard as he could. The figure fell backwards from the attack and was now clutching his arm. Yoshii glared at the blond. It looks like this fight is going to be harder than he thought. He tried a leg sweep, but it was avoided. He tried to attack more, but due to his aching arm, his attacks were much too slow and weak. Finally, he succeeded in kicking Sharpner to the ground. Victory was to be his. He was about to put one foot on the blonde's back to signal his victory, when he felt himself pulled down onto something soft and green. He looked up and noticed that Sharpner had somehow managed to drag him out of the ring. It wasn't hard since the blond was already close to the edge anyway.

"What a wonderful performance, boys and girls. Let's hope that our next fight would be just as exciting as this one," the principal said with a smile.

The crowd went wild, minus Vegeta whom felt like gagging in disgust.

The other three matches went by pretty fast and it came down to Videl's fight with the sumo, and Gohan with the mysterious girl.

Videl stepped into the ring and waited for her opponent to do the same. The fight began and ended rather quickly. Videl had managed to knock out the kid.

Now it was Gohan's fight. As he walked up to the ring, he peered over his shoulder at his opponent. She didn't seem quite right for some unknown reason to Gohan. He stepped into the ring and took a defensive stance. His clothing wasn't really meant for sparring, but thankfully he wasn't wearing casual clothes that usually consisted of slacks and a dress shirt. He looked at his opponent who stood there calmly with a strange smile on her face. 'Was she always in this school? Weird, I haven't noticed her before.'

"That's because I'm a new student, Son Gohan," came the voice of the girl before him.

"What? H-how did you know my name?" he stuttered. He studied her mysterious smile for a little while. "Wait, just who are you?"

"It was easy getting your name. Since a super saiyan is so to distinguish, I just had to ask around for your name." The girl smirked. Her hair flashed gold and she dropped into an offensive stance.

"S-super Saiyan," Gohan muttered. "But how?"

"Not quite. Actually, I'm from an alien race similar to the saiyans, but we were stronger and more civilized. I am Victoria, a Raishuian, the last of my race."

Gohan raised an eyebrow. Thank god no one could hear them thanks to the volume of their voices. However, the crowd was beginning to get impatient and demanded that they begin the battle.

"Just why are you here?"

"To get the dragon balls, obviously." Victoria smile remained on her face, bringing uneasiness from Gohan. 'If I manage to get hold of the dragon balls, I could wish back my parents. Lucky I did a little research and found out that there was such a thing as a dragon radar. I was lucky enough to stumble across an article that was written by a witness of the Shenlong and who has the radar.'

"No, I mean why are you here at Orange Star High."

"Because I wanted to hang around you Earth people for a while, you know, a sort of way to blend in. That's beside the point. Once I get the dragon balls, which I know you are guarding and have the location of, I'm going to destroy this planet, saiyan."

Her fist began to glow and she charged at Gohan, punching him in the face.

Vegeta gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. 'Not those annoying Raishuians again! I thought that Frieza had taken care of them like he did to Vegeta-sei.'

Gohan fell back from the impact of the punch, but quickly regained his balance and landed his own punch at Victoria. She raised an arm and blocked. Gohan gritted his teeth. 'I can't let her get hold of the dragon radar. She would most likely wish back everyone of her race and then destroy the universe. Looks like I'm going to have to power up a bit. My punch didn't even faze her.' Gohan powered up enough so that a golden flame engulfed him.

"Ah, it looks like you're getting serious. Just like the saiyans, my people love to fight!" Victoria said as she fired a ki blast at the blond boy.

"Oh my god! What is that freakish light?" exclaimed mostly everyone from the crowd.

Gohan deflected the blast and attacked her with a few kicks and punches.

"That kid looks familiar," Mr. Satan muttered to himself. "Wait a minute, he looks just like that kid from the Cell Games. Ah! He is the kid from the Cell Games! He has the same hair, eyes, and should be around this age too! Oh no, oh no… he must be looking for revenge because I took credit for his defeat over Cell. Oh no, oh no…"

Gohan landed a powerful punch at Victoria's face. She flew back from the impact, but stopped herself before landing outside the ring. "This ring is so annoying," she said as she lifted a glowing hand. She flew into the air and gathered a ball of light in her hand and she aimed it at the ring.

Gohan's eyes widened as he realized what she was trying to do. "Everybody, run!" he yelled.

The crowd only looked at Gohan in confusion.

Victoria smirked to herself. "It seems that you're a little late," she fired the enormous blast at the ring. The great ball of energy flooded from the palm of her hand and came crashing down toward the earth.

Gohan could not block the onslaught nor save the people quick enough. He gathered some energy in his hand and fired it toward the girl's blast. As the two blasts collided, rocks flew everywhere and people were pushed back from the force of the energy release. Mr. Satan tried to keep his feet on the ground, but failed as he was forced to lay on his stomach after being thrown back a couple of meters. "It's just like it was at the Cell Games!"

Gohan released more energy into his beam as he felt Victoria's blast beginning to overpower his. Soon he was at his limit in his Super Saiyan state and could not bring out any more energy to overcome the beam. He screamed as he powered up to his newest level, Super Saiyan Three. Still the battle ensued for minutes. In the end, the blast still collided with the Earth. When the smoke cleared, Victoria was still in the air with a proud smirk on her face. She looked down at the massive crater that the blast had created. Luckily, people were smart enough to run away after the blasts collided with each other.

"Come on, Gohan. I know you could do better than that," she said tauntingly.

The smoke around the crater disappeared and a limping figure was standing amongst the rocks. Gohan stood there, glaring menacingly at the girl, his black t-shirt torn and soaked in blood, his jeans reduced to nearly nothing.

"It looks like you're in no shape to fight. Tell you what, I'll return later. That should give you enough time to recover and get a little stronger."

Gohan still glared at the girl floating hundreds of feet above him in the air.

"Good bye, Gohan," she said with a smile before flying off in a random direction.

Bulma wormed out of Vegeta's protective embrace and ran over to the injured demi-saiyan. Videl, who had somehow managed to hide nearby, came out of her hiding spot. "Where's that girl and Gohan?" she wondered. It was then that she noticed a blue haired woman run right pass her and towards a very, very deep hole. She decided to follow the woman to the crater and was a little surprised at what she saw.

Bulma slid down the edges of the crater to the middle where a boy, who was barely standing, collapsed. Videl jumped right down the crater herself and was really shocked at the site of the boy who collapsed onto the blue haired woman. "G-Gohan?" she asked uncertainly from the site of the long blond hair flowing down the boy's back.

The blue haired scientist looked toward the sound of the voice. "Who are you?" she asked sternly.

"I'm… Satan Videl, a friend of Gohan," she answered.

Soon Vegeta, Goten, and Trunks joined the scene. "His energy is dangerously low," commented the Prince of Saiyans.

Gohan was barely able to open his eyes as he mumbled something out. "G-get the dragon radar." Finally, his eyes closed and his hair flashed back from gold to black, reducing the hair to the length it was meant to be.

"Oh no! Gohan!" screamed Bulma as she tried to awaken the demi-saiyan. She reached out and put a hand over his neck to feel his pulse. Being in this situation, Bulma was very worried and panicked as she barely felt Gohan's weak pulse.

"Relax onna. The boy is just sleeping. All he needs is a senzu bean," Vegeta assured.

Videl on the other hand, had different thoughts running through her head at the moment. 'H-h-h-h-his hair!!! It was blond, then gold, and now it's black!! What happened?'

"His hair," she finally managed to whisper.

Vegeta heard her whisper. "There is nothing wrong with him. This is his natural hair color."

"Wow, nii-chan looks different with black hair," mused Goten.

Trunks nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he sure does. He looks more like you than he does me."

"Enough chitchat! We've got to get Gohan healed fast!" yelled Bulma as she held tightly onto the limp form of Gohan.

Vegeta stepped up to his mate and grabbed his adopted son. Having him in his arms, he said, "I'll fly him up there now. You may fly back home. Hopefully when we get back, he'll be alright."

Bulma nodded and watched as her husband and three sons took off into the air. 'I hope he'll be alright,' she thought worriedly. She reached into her coat pocket and threw a capsule on the ground. When the light smoke cleared, a jet copter was there in the place of the capsule. Just as the scientist was about to board the contraption, a voice called out.

"I want to come too!" exclaimed Videl.

Bulma blinked at her outburst. "I don't know if it's a good idea…"

"Come on, Mrs. Briefs. I really want to be there by Gohan's side. That's what a friend is for! Please…." the raven-haired girl pleaded.

Bulma thought over her request for a moment. "Look, as long as you don't cause any trouble… you can come."

"Really?"

* * *

"Oh Kami! What happened to him?" asked Korrin.

"Nii-chan's hurt!" exclaimed two demi-saiyans.

"I can tell. But I want to know how this happened," answered the cat.

Vegeta laid Gohan down on the floor before looking up at the cat. "Give him a senzu bean, now!"

Korrin jumped back at the command. "I-I'm sorry, but I haven't been growing them for a while. I'll start growing them right now."

Vegeta growled in annoyance and picked Gohan back up. "Damn, I've got no time for this!"

He looked over toward the two chibis and yelled, "Come on! Let's go!"

The two demi-saiyans stiffened and took off in the air right after their father. Up they went towards the lookout where the new

Kami looks over the Earth. Once they landed, Vegeta laid Gohan down on the tile floor. "Mr. Popo! Where's Dende nii-chan?" asked Goten.

Mr. Popo stepped out from the building. "Oh, nice to see all of you once again."

"Where's that blasted namek?" grumbled Vegeta.

Mr. Popo looked down and noticed how badly injured Gohan was. "Oh, my. What happened to him?"

"Answer my blasted question."

"Piccolo and Dende went to Other World for this convention and I'm afraid that they won't be back until tomorrow."

Vegeta gritted his teeth. He was very irked that both places where they could usually be healed backfired on him. "Damn."

* * *

Bulma sat in her lab chair working on her latest invention, the time machine. Ever since Mirai Trunks had traveled back into their time, Bulma had been determined to develop the time machine sooner in life than in the late years of when Trunks was a teenager.

Videl stood in the middle of the lab, absolutely fascinated by the inventions and the machinery in the room.

Suddenly, Trunks and Goten bolted into the room, followed by Vegeta who still had Gohan in his arms. "Where's that damn regeneration tank that you moved for the hundredth time!" demanded the Saiyan Prince.

Bulma opened the heavy metal doors behind her and pointed towards the machine. "It's always been here, Vegeta! I haven't moved it since I invented it!"

Vegeta, realizing that she was correct, only grumbled. "Shut up." He opened the doors to the machine and dropped Gohan's limp form inside. He closed the doors and punched in a few buttons. The tank soon filled up with mucus like liquid.

"Is he safe in there?" questioned Videl.

Goten nodded. "Nii-chan goes in there every time he gets hurt really bad during training."

'Great… just great, Videl. You just had to enter Gohan in the tournament and he fought someone who almost killed him. Real smart move, Videl.'

* * *

Whilst inside the regeneration tank, Gohan could feel some of his wounds healing and closing up. 'I can't believe that I wasn't a match against her! Even when I turned Super Saiyan Three, I still didn't stand a chance with her. It was like she wasn't even trying… Argh!'

:: Gohan, why are you yelling at yourself like that?::

Gohan's eyes snapped open and he looked around him to see if he could spot where the voice was emanating from.

:: Gohan, I'm right here, in Other World!::

'Dad? But how?'

Goku smiled. :: I'm talking to you telepathically through King Kai. Your mother and grandfather also says hi.::

'Mom, dad, grandpa… Why didn't you guys want to be revived?'

:: Because Gohan, we knew that Bulma would take good care of you if something happened to us. Besides, it always seem that every evil that comes to destroy the Earth was because of me. This was the only way that I could ensure that the Earth will be safe.::

'But what about Mom? Wouldn't she want to be with us?'

:: Your mother does want to be with you, but she says that she will return another time. Let's just say that we're having our very long second honeymoon, but in Other World.::

'So, Mom's going to come back, but another time… What about Grandpa?'

Goku stepped away from King Kai and the Ox King placed his hands on the Kai's back. :: Hello Gohan! It's me, Grandpa!::

'Grandpa! Are you going to come back too?'

The Ox King shook his head. :: I'm sorry Gohan, but I'm not going to.::

'But why?'

:: Well, I found out recently after Goten was born that I had heart problems and I was going to die a year later… it would've been futile anyway.::

'Grandpa…'

:: Don't be sad, Gohan. Tell you what. Your mother and father are going to visit you Saturday and Sunday.::

'This Saturday and Sunday? That's the day of the carnival.'

:: Then that's perfect! Grand Kai promised your parents a day back on Earth.::

Gohan smiled. 'Mom and Dad are coming back for a visit huh? I can't wait! Goten would also want to meet mom and dad.'

:: Yes, I'm sure he will. You have grown up to be a strong young man, Gohan. Opps… I got to go, I think I crushed King Kai… ::

Gohan chuckled to himself. 'Mom and Dad are coming back.' Then the guilt he held back from his conversation surfaced. 'If it wasn't for me, Mom and Dad would both be here right now.'

Finally the machine beeped and the all the liquid was drained from the tank. Gohan removed the oxygen mask and headed toward his room to change out of his tattered clothes. He opened his closet and pulled out a gi since he wasn't in the mood to choose clothes to wear. He went quickly went into the shower to wash off the excess liquid from the regeneration tank. When he was finished, he changed into the gi.

Right when he walked out of his room, he bumped into someone. Thinking it was a maid again, "Sorry, miss. You can go back to what you were doing…" Then he realized that it wasn't a maid he ran into. It was a girl with raven hair in pigtails that has beautiful cerulean eyes.

"V-Videl?" he asked.

She got back onto her feet, all the while rubbing her sore bottom from her fall. She turned her gaze at the boy who knocked her down. "Who are you?" she asked.

"What?" He pulled down a strand of hair and looked at it. 'Crap, it's back to black.'

Then it finally hit her. The resemblance between Gohan and this dark haired fellow was unmistakable, except for the hair and eyes part… "Gohan? Is that really you?"

Gohan nodded. "Yeah… it's me."

"Whoa, you look totally different with black hair and eyes," she commented.

"This is how I really look. Anyways, I'm hungry. I'm going to go get something to eat," he said before he took off in the direction of the kitchen.

She pinched herself to assure herself that she wasn't dreaming. Feeling pain in her cheek, she realized that she was definitely awake. She still wasn't sure that boy was Gohan even though he said that he was. This boy (black haired Gohan) has lots of muscles and a very good body, while Gohan (Super Saiyan Gohan)… he looks so normal. If she could get more proof that this boy is Gohan, then she would believe him. For instance, information from his mother or perhaps just getting the boy to perform a few of the light tricks he constantly kept doing during bank robbery incidents.

Videl pulled herself out of her reverie and walked down the hall where Gohan had gone. She felt somewhat hungry herself.

* * *

Victoria lay on her bed as thoughts run through her head. 'Frieza has already been disposed of. Now all that's left are the saiyans.' She reached for a picture on her nightstand and looked at it. It was a picture of her parents when they were young. 'I can't wait to see you two again,' she thought as a silent tear rolled down her face.

* * *

I'm not quite sure about what Victoria means, but the only reason why I chose the name was because it sounded kind of like victory. No offense to anyone who's name is Victoria, it was just a random name that I thought up of so don't yell at me saying that I'm calling you a bad guy because of your name. I don't know why I chose Raishu as Victoria's supposed home planet. I couldn't think of anything and this is the first thing that came to mind. So, if it doesn't match with Victoria's race at all, I'm not going to change it. The name sounds sort of cool. -

Okay, is this chapter long enough to satisfy all you people? Hopefully it is because I was going to write more to this chapter, but I got lazy and felt that it was long enough. You know, my description of action scenes suck so excuse me when I start writing scenes with action.

Oh, and give thanks to ShaggyDiz for his excellent revision. I dug myself into a little hole with a couple of mistakes, but thanks to his help, I was able to fix that along with other grammatical errors.

Next Chapter: Tomorrow's the carnival! Gohan and the gang are going to have some fun, especially with the return of Goku. However, what happens when a mysterious girl with black hair and green eyes (Victoria) decides to have some fun?


	10. Carnival Day

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation.

* * *

Edited By ShaggyDiz

To people – Well, I know that I made Gohan revert back to his normal mode, BUT I will only have him revert back to Super Saiyan after a little while. Just to experiment what people will think of him now, not just personality wise. Gohan's too cool as a Super Saiyan!

Aleandra Alyra Sarienna – I want to thank you so much for telling me grammar sucks. I really did not need to be reminded of that. Anyways, I'll go back and correct the grammatical mistakes another time because of laziness at this point in time. You see I'm making readers wait for the next chapter to come out because I'm too lazy to write it.

Pia Bartonlini – Thank you for telling me that my story is rudimentary. I know that the story plot is still a little weak because this is where the action kicks in suddenly. I don't feel like going back to add some action into other chapters because one, I'm lazy, two, I don't want to change the text, three, it won't work that well with what I have written so far. (At least I don't think so.)

Tenshi-Hotaru and Anonymous (…) – I would like something more to go by…(name for ….) I'm not going to tell you. I don't want to spoil the plot for you and everybody else. You'll just have continue reading to find out!

SaiyanPrincess77 – Gohan did not hate Goku and Chichi. You must've been thinking of something else. I think it was 'Blinded' because Gohan hated his father there (I think?) for coming back and acting like nothing happened. Gohan in my story just wants to respect his parent's decision for remaining dead thanks to Goku's 'evil comes because of me' reason.

Luna's Meow – How fast do you want me to update a long and errorless (mostly) chapter? I'm only human you know… LoL Don't worry, I'll try to get an update as quick as possible.

Anonymous – You mentioned some flaws in my plotline, but I somehow lost your name. ; hehe… Thanks for pointing that out, but as I thought I stated before, I said that Victoria wanted to destroy the Earth because that's the current home planet of the saiyans and the Raishuians hate Saiyans. Why is she as powerful as a SSJ 3? That's because she is of a similar race to the saiyans that can increase their strength two times as fast as saiyans. However, those who have lived before were not capable of gaining enough strength to challenge Frieza, even in his first form. So, when Victoria was old enough, her parents began to train her, but left her at home to train by herself whilst they do severe training elsewhere.

Phew! That was a long note!

* * *

_Previous Chapter:_

_She pinched herself to assure herself that she wasn't dreaming. Feeling pain in her cheek, she realized that she was definitely awake. She still wasn't sure that boy was Gohan even though he said that he was. This boy (black haired Gohan) has lots of muscles and a very good body, while Gohan (Super Saiyan Gohan)… he looks so normal. If she could get more proof that this boy is Gohan, then she would believe him. For instance, information from his mother or perhaps just getting the boy to perform a few of the light tricks he constantly kept doing during bank robbery incidents._

_Videl pulled herself out of her reverie and walked down the hall where Gohan had gone. She felt somewhat hungry herself._

* * *

_Victoria lay on her bed as thoughts run through her head. 'Frieza has already been disposed of. Now all that's left are the saiyans.' She reached for a picture on her nightstand and looked at it. It was a picture of her parents when they were young. 'I can't wait to see you two again,' she thought as a silent tear rolled down her face._

* * *

Chapter 10

Carnival Day

It was very unusual having a happy black haired teen eating the food like it was the end of the world. Who wouldn't think so if you saw one of your classmates wolfing down food like there was no tomorrow? I certainly would be freaked out. Thoughts along the lines of that were going through Videl's head as she watched the once blonde teen literally gobble down his food.

'And he's still getting more servings,' she thought with awe. She looked down at her own bowl of rice, then back at Gohan's gigantic bowl. 'My father can't even eat all that. And he's the pig of the family too!' She slowly ate her bowl of rice while observing the eating habits of the saiyans at the table.

Goten and Trunks were racing each other, looking like miniature Gohans eating enough food to feed a small village. Over to the right of the boys sit Vegeta who can compete with the demi-saiyan in a race to finish off the food. It's one thing to see one person eat like a pig. It's another thing to see four people eating like pigs at the same time. Videl was utterly stupefied as the last pickle on a dish was battled out for with chopsticks. The winner of the pickle happened to be Vegeta who ate it greedily.

Videl dropped her chopsticks onto the stainless steel table and stared at her half-finished bowl of rice. Somehow she had lost her appetite watching the disappearing food. Suddenly she felt a tap on her right shoulder. She turned her attention to the person who had tapped her.

"Are you alright? You hardly ate anything," asked a blue haired scientist.

Videl nodded. "Yes, Bulma. It's just that I've somehow lost my appetite watching…" she trailed off as she glanced up at the fifth serving of food that the saiyans are currently devouring.

"Them eat?" Bulma finished for the raven-haired girl.

Videl nodded with a slight blush.

Chuckling at the comment, Bulma set her chopsticks down by her bowl of rice. "Don't worry. You'll get used to having four of them eating at once after a while."

"I don't know if I should ever come over here again if I have watch this happen every time," commented the teenage girl that happened to be pointing at the specs of rice and food flying everywhere.

"Oh… that?" Bulma cleared her throat and… "Stop eating like pigs or else you're doing the dishes!"

Immediately the amount of food and rice in the air decreased until it was nearly invisible.

Bulma smiled in triumph and turned her attention back to the girl. "So, are you going the carnival tomorrow?"

"Oh, I um… yeah. I'm going with my friends, Erasa and Sharpner, and I was thinking about asking Gohan to-"

"Ask him to go! Gohan hasn't been out of the house in years except for school! Gohan would absolutely love to go with you," interjected the scientist.

"I um uh…."

"Great! Gohan will go with you and your friends to the carnival tomorrow!" said Bulma. Turning her attention towards the older demi-saiyan she said, "Gohan, you're going to the carnival tomorrow with Videl and her friends!"

Gohan just waved as a reply and continued to eat, not caring what the words coming out of his mother's mouth were. Besides, he was planning to go to the carnival anyways.

Suddenly a chorus of "I'm finished!" came from the three demi-saiyans and a small burp from the Prince of Saiyans. Like Vegeta would really say, "I'm finished" after a meal? Usually he would just get out of his chair and say, "I'm going to train in the gravity chamber."

"I've got an excellent idea! Why don't we all go to the carnival tomorrow?" exclaimed Bulma. "Gohan could hang out with

Videl and her friends while we can have some family time."

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me to go with Videl while you, dad, Goten and Trunks hang out by yourselves at the carnival; without me?" asked Gohan.

"Bingo! We're going tomorrow because that's when the carnival starts and you need your rest after recovering from your injuries."

"But why can't I go with you?" whined Gohan.

"Relax, you're going to have an awesome time with Videl and her friends!"

"Mom…" whined Gohan.

"Gohan! Don't make me get out the frying pan again!" yelled an irritated Bulma.

Gohan quickly shut his mouth and answered, "Yes, mom." Even after all the years Gohan was free from Chichi's discipline, he never gained the guts to disobey an order.

* * *

The carnival was tomorrow and many people were going to go to this social event. Children went with their friends and family to have fun and play at the amusement park. However, Victoria was a special case. She had no one. Having never met any relatives whom were all dead, limited the amount of people in her family. Now, there were even less than before thanks to the death of her parents. It has been hard living her life alone. It wasn't so hard back then when she knew that they were still alive, but now, they're dead. She had to adjust to the feelings of being an orphan and overcome the grief that came with it. When she found their dead bodies, she exploded with rage and gained a new level just as the saiyans have done. She trained everyday to gain more experience with her new power. She needed some way to release her anger and training was a great way.

Ever since their death, she had vowed to carry out their mission and that was exactly what she is doing. However, in order to do so, it required her to locate the saiyans. It was by luck that when she identified the planet, her space ship had some information about seven mysterious balls that could grant wishes. Immediately she knew that she could revive her parents if she got her hands on such a thing.

Victoria lay in her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling above her. "Should I just finish off the saiyans right now so I can see my parents sooner? Or should I wait a little while and just have some fun before actually destroying the saiyans?" she mumbled to herself.

She rolled over on her bed and closed her eyes. "I think I'll just have some fun before I do anything," she muttered to herself as sleep overtook her.

* * *

That night, neither Gohan nor Videl could sleep. Both had thoughts running through their heads, preventing them from getting the sleep their bodies cried out for.

'What did his mother mean when she said that Gohan hasn't been out of the house in years? Maybe he was home schooled. That would explain his intelligence and would give him plenty of time for other things, such as martial arts. Hmm… Perhaps it would be fun to hang out with Gohan for a day,' she thought before the darkness finally enveloped her, giving her body the sleep it requires.

'Has mom gone mad? Going to the carnival with Videl tomorrow… Oh my god. I just remembered that Mom and Dad are coming back. It's going to be a little weird for Goten to see dad after all these years of being fathered by Vegeta. And mom… I don't want to imagine what the first thing she would do when seeing Goten. Ugh… It's going to be unusual have them back and I won't really be around because I'll be with Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner. Ugh… I don't feel like acting happy or anything anymore. It takes too much energy to put on a smile…'

* * *

Morning came as the sun rose from the east, casting light everywhere. Clouds drifted away to bring the absolute perfect weather from rain. Birds chirp, finding their mates. A couple of flower petals fell to the ground, casting a light layer of flower petals. Children were playing outside. Their laughs were being echoed throughout the neighborhood. And finally annoying beeping echoes throughout the room of a certain demi-saiyan.

Gohan reached a hand up and slammed it onto the clock made of steel. He groggily picked himself up off his bed and walked to the bathroom, groaning all the way.

After a few minutes of freshening up, he decided to head downstairs for breakfast before Goku and Chichi's arrival that morning. As he entered the kitchen, Gohan noticed Bulma jumping back and forth throughout the kitchen with a few of the robots following her, preparing breakfast for the group of saiyans.

"Morning," greeted Gohan.

Bulma looked up from the eggs she was currently frying and muttered a 'morning' back before returning to her task of cooking breakfast.

"Morning 'nii-chan!" chorused two chibi demi-saiyans.

"Morning brat," greeted Vegeta who just happened to be calmly drinking his coffee.

'How odd… Usually he would just disregard me and stuff his face with breakfast,' Gohan thought to himself.

"Is it true that we're going to the carnival today? Huh? Is it? Is it?" asked a very hyper Goten.

"Yeah! Is it true?" agreed Trunks.

Gohan couldn't help but chuckle at their eagerness and naivety. "Yes, but we're going to be having two very special guests today and tomorrow."

"Oooo!! Who is it?" they asked in unison. After living together for years, they somehow speak in unison at times and act very similar in ways that it's creepy. Goten would sometimes be very mischievous like Trunks and Trunks would be very naïve like Goten.

"You'll find out after breakfast," he answered with a smile.

Hearing that reply, the two chibis hurriedly devoured their meal in hopes of meeting the mystery guest sooner. After finished eating their meal, the two chibis kept hurrying their elders to eat quicker.

* * *

"This is it," Bulma whispered to herself.

Being saiyan allowed everyone enhanced vision and hearing, so they overheard her whisper.

"Kakarotto is finally coming back to visit. I've been waiting for this day to happen so I could surpass that third class idiot," commented Vegeta.

"This is going to be weird. I haven't seen them for four years," stated Gohan.

"Come on! Tell us who the mystery people are!" whined the chibis.

"Well, looks like someone's a little eager for Goku's return," came a voice.

Everyone scanned the area for the origin of the voice, but to no avail.

"King Kai?" asked Gohan.

There was a chuckle and then an answer. "Bingo! Your prize is a year's worth of…. School text books!"

"Come on, King Kai!"

"Alright, alright. Actually, your parents are just about ready to come back. They are very excited to see how much you and your brother has grown."

Gohan smiled at the remark. 'I wonder if I should ask them to come back to life? However that would be their choice. I decided that if they wanted to return or stay dead, that would be their choice. But I really miss them.'

"Gohan!! Goten!! My babies!" screamed a feminine voice.

Everyone looked around for a few seconds before finally spotting a couple to their left, their figures hidden by the shadows of the tree and it's branches.

Gohan was in disbelief. Could it really be them? Was it those two people just standing over there?

"Mom?" Gohan asked uncertainly.

Chichi nodded as tears sprang up in her eyes. She raced toward Gohan and enveloped him in a gigantic bear hug.

"'Nii-chan, who is this strange lady?" asked a curious Goten.

Chichi turned her attention to the owner of the voice to find a very familiar face. It looked like an exact duplicate of her husband's face when he was a kid.

"Goten?" she asked unsurely.

Goten nodded dumbly, but not before being smothered in a death grip from the woman he called strange only moments ago.

"C-can't breathe…"

Chichi immediately released the poor boy and looked him straight in the eye. "Goten…"

"Hi there," came the voice of a man.

Goten looked up to find a tall man looming over him with a huge warm smile on his face. What really interested him was the hairstyle of the man. It looked exactly liked his and his face was like his as well, but much older.

"Hello mister…" came the weak reply of the chibi demi-saiyan.

Gohan walked right up to the little boy and crouched down to his eye level. "Goten, this is our real parents. This man was our father and that strange woman was our mother," he explained.

Goten looked back up at the two people and down again. "I don't get it! I thought they were mom and dad!" Goten yelled while pointing a finger toward the Briefs couple.

Gohan sighed and picked up the little demi-saiyan, placing him on his shoulder. "Goten, those two people are our real mom and dad. They died a few years ago and are finally coming back to visit us. Our mom and dad now are only our adopted parents."

"What?" asked an obviously confused Goten. "How long are these strange people staying?"

Gohan released another sigh. "Our real mom and dad are going to visit us for two days before they go back to being dead," he explained in the simplest terms possible.

"Oh. So that means that mommy and daddy #2 are going to play with us for two whole days?"

Gohan nodded his head. "We're going to go to the carnival and mommy and daddy #2 are going to come with us."

"Yay!" cheered an ecstatic Goten.

"Who're they, mom?" Trunks asked to Bulma.

"They are Gohan and Goten's real parents, but they died a while ago. So we did something that made Gohan and Goten your brothers," explained Bulma.

"Oh. Come on! Let's go to the carnival! I want to go now!"

"Not yet, Trunks. Videl still isn't here," replied Bulma.

"Who's Videl?" asked Chichi.

"Another annoying brat," supplied Vegeta.

Bulma shot him a glare that shut him up. "Actually Chichi, Videl is a friend of Gohan's."

"Gohan finally made a friend aside from the Z Warriors! I'm so proud of you Gohan! I should've sent you to school earlier so you can meet more people! But then you would fall behind in your studies… No, that wouldn't work! No!! Home schooling was definitely the best option."

Goku and Bulma sweat dropped while Vegeta restrained himself from choking the woman to shut her rambling.

Just then there was a strong gust of wind. When the wind stopped blowing, there was a yellow jet copter a couple meters away. Videl came out and felt a little uneasy as she noticed that there were two people she hadn't quite met yesterday. "Hi…"

"Hey Videl!" greeted Bulma.

"Videl?!" Chichi exclaimed in surprise. She grabbed the blue haired scientist's sleeve and whispered in her ear. "Are you sure she's just a friend and not Gohan's girlfriend?"

Bulma sighed once again. "I believe so, otherwise Gohan's been keeping a secret from me for a while. Besides, I've just met her yesterday," she whispered back.

"Yesterday?"

She nodded.

"Tell me more about this 'Videl.' She seems a little suspicious."

Bulma nodded again. "I'll tell you all I know about her later."

When the two females stopped whispering, they looked up to see everyone's gaze upon them. "We can hear what you're saying, you know. You weren't really whispering that much…"

Chichi sweat dropped and grinned stupidly. "Haha… oops."

"Come on! Let's get the show on the road and get to that carnival!"

* * *

When they arrived, the place was incredibly crowded. Everywhere was people and noise. Vegeta grumbled, realizing that he should've ignored Bulma's threat concerning his food.

"Onna, this place is crowded beyond belief. It would've been best for me to stay home and train in the gravity chamber," Vegeta growled at his mate.

Bulma glared at her husband. It was so like him to act like this every time they went out of the house. "Shut up, Vegeta. I just want a nice family outing and an enjoyable day with the Sons back. Is that too much to ask for? IS IT?!"

The Saiyan Prince growled again.

"Hey Goten, where do you want to go first?" Goku asked his youngest son.

Goten shrugged his shoulders and looked over to his brother to see Trunks pointing at the highest roller coaster in the entire theme park. "That one, Goten," Trunks pointed.

"Yeah!" agreed Goten. "I want to go on that one!"

Goku smiled and picked up Trunks with his other arm. "Come on Chichi, let's go. You too Gohan!"

"Kakarotto, unhand my son!" growled Vegeta.

Bulma gritted her teeth and restrained herself from making yet another scene in public. "Vegeta! Goku can play with Trunks and Goten all he wants! You see them everyday and you don't play with them!"

"Shut up Onna!" the prince yelled. He knew she was right, but he still didn't like the fact that Trunks was sitting on his rival's shoulder. He would care less about Goten sitting on Goku's shoulder since he was Goku's biological son, but Trunks is his son! It would be absurd to have a third class baka holding the young prince of saiyans in his arms.

"Aww… Come on, Vegeta. You can come too if you want," suggested Goku.

Vegeta gritted his teeth and growled in annoyance. "I will not join a third class baka such as you in your silly escapade."

"Awww…. Come on, daddy," whined Goten.

"Dad…" whined Trunks with puppy dog eyes.

"Trunks… you know that you are not to use that face on me!" shouted an irritated Vegeta. Instead of Trunks stopping the silly expression, he only intensified it and was joined by Goten who was making equally effective puppy dog eyes.

"No," came the simple reply.

Trunks and Goten increased the intensity of their puppy dog eyes. "Please…"

"How cute," Videl whispered to herself.

"Another puppy dog face," Gohan stated with a small grin.

"Come on Vegeta!" both Bulma and Chichi yelled together.

Vegeta growled in irritation before finally sighing in defeat. "Fine! As long as you stop doing that infuriating face!"

"Great job of convincing Vegeta you two," Goku whispered to the two chibis. Goten and Trunks gave each other a high-five with huge grins plastered on their faces.

Gohan noticed Vegeta stomping lightly all the way over to the roller coaster and couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

* * *

"What do you mean they can't ride this?" Goku asked in disbelief.

The technician pointed towards the sign posted on the side of the wall. "I'm sorry sir, but you have to be this tall to ride this roller coaster. And as you can see, your children are barely even half of the height."

Goku tried to reason with the technician, but found it useless.

Vegeta walked up to the man and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "You will let them ride or else!"

"I'm sorry sir, but rules are rules!" squealed the frightened technician.

Vegeta formed a ki ball in his free hand and held it in front of the man's face. "I do not like to repeat myself."

The technician squealed with fright. "G-g-go a-h-h-h-head…"

Vegeta dropped the frightened man onto the ground after diminishing his ki ball. He smirked as he noticed the technician scrambling away. It felt great to threaten people. He walked casually up to the coaster and seated himself in the row behind Goku, Goten, and Trunks. Vegeta glanced sideways to see if anyone was boarding, but to his relief, none was. The people were too frightened to ride on the same roller coaster as that man. Vegeta grinned and waited for the ride to begin.

* * *

Gohan felt a little awkward standing there by Erasa and Sharpner now that they were staring at him in a weird manner.

"What happened to your hair Gohan?" asked Erasa.

"I dyed it," he answered coolly. Okay, it was a lie, but can you tell a person who saw you yesterday with blonde hair, then with black hair the next day. The obvious thing to do in such a situation is to lie.

"What about your eyes, Gohan?" Sharpner asked while pointing to the teen's eyes.

Gohan stared calmly into his the blonde haired boy's eyes. "What do you think?" he asked.

Sharpner gave a suspicious stare at the black haired teen. "I didn't know you wore contacts!" exclaimed a ditzy blonde girl.

"Contacts, huh?" Sharpner asked.

"Guys, stop staring at Gohan so we can have some fun," Videl said to her friends.

Erasa agreed and followed Videl toward the ice cream stand while Sharpner walked at the same pace as Gohan.

Gohan had his hands in his pocket and was walking calmly behind the two girls when Sharpner spoke up. "Seriously, dude. What's with your eyes? It was some freaky blue color with no pupil last time. Now, it's brown and I can actually see your pupil."

Gohan shot a glare at the blonde. Why was he so nosy anyways? If it were anybody else, they would've left him alone. "It's like Erasa said, I wear contacts."

"Then why aren't you wearing the same ones you did before?"

Gohan shot another glare at the blonde. He was beginning to annoy him. "The contacts I wore were special. I didn't find the need to wear it this time."

Sharpner grinned. "Hey! Give me one of those! They're pretty cool! It would match perfectly with my Halloween costume. Creepy eyes with a creepy outfit."

He ignored Sharpner and continued walking. "Sorry, but I can't do that. They were custom made for my eyes and are not for suitable for anyone else's eyes."

"Awww… Come on, dude."

Gohan looked over to his left at the begging boy. He grinned and powered up slightly so that the color of his eyes would change. "I'll think about it." His eyes reverted back to normal a second later. Then he turned his attention back to the girls that were currently buying ice cream.

He couldn't move from his spot. Sharpner looked at Gohan's face again and noticed something odd. 'His eyes flashed green! How is that possible? I thought he said that he wore different contacts today!"

* * *

Off in the distance, Victoria stood in silent waiting on top of the carnival's Ferris wheel. Her long hair was held down today by a bandana she picked up, though it still swayed in the wind. She wore a simple shirt and jacket, as well as a pair of loose fitting jeans. The attire was appropriate for what she wanted to do without looking terribly out of place from the festivities below her. She kept an eye on the ground, scanning briefly for her targets.

"I know they're here, I can sense their energy even though its suppressed," she muttered to herself.

Her green eyes narrowed as she came upon her primary adversary, Gohan, talking to the girl with black pigtails. There were two blondes, she noticed, that were of no concern to her. "There's one of them. Now where are the others?" she whispered. Suddenly she felt a jolt of energy towards her right. She quickly adverted her attention in that direction and spotted the man from yesterday with tall black hair, holding an energy ball in one hand and a helpless boy in the other. Beside him were two children and a tall man in an orange gi with the wildest hair that she had ever seen. "Another Saiyan… interesting…"

She jumped into the air and extended an arm, a smirk on her face.

* * *

As the roller coaster was going through its fifth loop, Vegeta glanced toward his right and glared. Something didn't feel right to him.

"Are you okay, Vegeta?" asked Goku.

"Do you feel that, Kakarotto?"

Goku didn't know what he meant. He concentrated on sensing something unusual and to his surprise; he noticed an immense energy in the direction Vegeta was staring at. "Whoever it is, they appear to be very powerful."

Vegeta nodded. "I have a feeling that I'm not going to like this."

* * *

Gohan turned his attention away from the girls and glared at the Ferris wheel. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and clenched his fists, preparing for what was to come.

It wasn't long before an energy wave came his way. Gohan gathered some energy in his hands and shot it toward the deadly energy beam, knocking it away from the people around him. Rocks flew everywhere and smoke covered the ground. People began to cough widely. Once they realized they were in danger, they began to scatter.

The son of Goku narrowed his eyes even more and dropped into a defensive stance.

Victoria soon landed in front of the saiyan teen, grinning evilly at him. "I must say; you look much better now than after the battle we had yesterday."

Gohan gritted his teeth and powered up enough to push people away from him. He charged at the girl and attacked her with a combination of a punch and a ki blast.

She flew back a couple of feet, barely even fazed by the weak attack. "I'll tell you something. I won't destroy the planet and I'll spare your lives if you hand over the dragon radar peacefully."

"What would your wish be if I give it to you?" he asked.

"That's none of your business! Just hand it over!" She stuck out her hand, signaling for the teen to hand over the little contraption.

"Why should I?" he asked through his teeth.

"I already told you why!" she yelled. Instead of having her hand hanging in the open waiting for Gohan to hand over the device, she pulled it back slightly and fired a ki blast at him.

Gohan blocked the blast with the back of his hand, but was caught off guard as she came up to him and nailed him with an uppercut. He fell backward and was assaulted with a powerful kick to the stomach. He fell to his knees and gripped his stomach, a small trace of blood dripping out of his mouth.

Victoria smiled at the sight. She stood in front of him and asked again, "I'll give you one last chance to hand over the radar."

"Never!" screamed a voice.

She turned in the direction of the voice and was met with a kick to the face; the force of the attack so great that she was driven deeply into the ground.

Vegeta lowered himself onto the ground slowly, all the while glaring at the girl on the ground. "You again," he uttered disgustedly.

Victoria picked herself off the ground quickly and rubbed her face slightly. "Hmmm… You look familiar. Ah, now I remember. You're one of the saiyans. Wait; let me correct that. The Prince of Saiyans: Prince Vegeta." 'He was in the saiyan profiles in grandfather's space ship,' she thought to herself.

Vegeta's glare never left her. "What do you want, girl?"

She dusted her clothes and replied, "The dragon balls."

"You're not getting them," came another voice.

Everyone looked up to see Goku.

"Where's Goten and Trunks?" Gohan asked weakly. He slowly picked himself off the ground and powered up to Super Saiyan.

"I dropped them off with Bulma and your mother," he stated calmly. Goku powered up to a Super Saiyan and dropped into an offensive stance.

Vegeta powered up and charged at the girl. Goku and Gohan followed in suit and attacked the girl all at once. As they were punching and kicking her, she slowly increased her energy until she found the right moment to transform. She released a scream and her energy increased at least twenty times. Her hair turned gold, her eyes green, and finally, a golden aura surrounded her.

"A Saiyan?" Goku asked in disbelief.

Vegeta gritted his teeth. Her power was immense. "No, you baka! She's a Raishuian."

"A Raishuian? What's that?" asked a bewildered Goku.

"Ugh… you imbecile! Raishuians were our rivals! We fought against them years ago!" yelled an irritated Vegeta.

"How should I know? I got amnesia remember?"

"That explains why you're such an idiot," Vegeta said with a grin.

"Hey!"

"A little help here!!" Gohan screamed as he was thrown into a wall from a punch delivered by Victoria. He crawled out of hole in the wall and powered up even more before attacking her again.

Goku and Vegeta halted their discussion and went to help Gohan. However, their attacks failed miserably.

Victoria smirked. She powered up even more. The amount of power she released was enough to send the fighters crashing into a wall. "Just hand over the dragon radar!"

Gohan tried moving his arms, but only succeeded in moving it slightly. "No…"

There was a sudden stiff wind, knocking around dirt and debris. As Victoria moved in towards Gohan, several leaflets tumbled along, one of them sticking to her leg. She was ready to discard it when she spotted some very energetic writing on it. "What's this?" she said to herself, the battle before her paused for the time being. When she was finished reading, a smile appeared on her lips. "Tomorrow's the World Martial Arts Tournament, huh? Sounds like fun." She folded the paper several times and placed it in one of her pockets. Her gaze came back to Gohan. "Tell you what? We'll continue our little fight at the tournament tomorrow. Until then, see ya!"

"W-what? Come back here!" Gohan yelled. He powered up to SSJ 3 and fired a ki blast at the girl.

She raised a hand and deflected the attack. "You better be there tomorrow or else!"

Vegeta and Goku slowly crawled out of the crater they created and dropped back to their regular forms.

The prince pounded his fist into the ground and cursed to himself, "Damn. I'll get that brat… Just you wait…"

Goku turned to his son. "You ascended again, Gohan? Wow, I can't believe how strong you've grown!"

Gohan dropped back to the regular Super Saiyan state and said, "Not really. I'm not that strong. I've just achieved this level a few days ago."

"But still… I am impressed with how much stronger you've become."

Vegeta laughed. "He's not the only one who's gotten stronger. With my new acquired strength, I might be able to match your strength, perhaps surpass it."

"Really? I didn't know you were that strong," answered Goku.

The prince grinned and replied, "Really. I challenge you at the Tournament so the whole world would see you crumble at my feet after we knock the teeth out of the that annoying Raishuian's face."

"We'll see, Vegeta. I can't wait till tomorrow! I've been waiting for this for a long time. Gohan, you're entering right?"

Gohan nodded. "Yeah."

Goku noticed something odd about his son, aside from the fact that he is still in his Super Saiyan state. "Gohan, why don't you seem as happy as usual?"

Gohan raised an eyebrow at the inquiry. "What do you mean?"

Vegeta knew what Goku meant, but kept his mouth shut.

"What do you mean? I mean why aren't you that happy to see your old man back? The last I saw you, you were so cheerful and happy like a normal eleven year old boy, but now… There's this big change. You're so calm and not talkative. I've noticed this since your mother and I came back, but I just haven't said anything." Goku took a breath before continuing. He looked directly into his son's turquoise eyes and asked, "It's not because I died fighting Cell right?"

The demi-saiyan winced at the last statement and looked away from his father.

The elder Son walked over to his offspring and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Gohan, you've got to let that go. You can't keep blaming yourself over my death."

Gohan moved away from his father and shouted, "But you died because of my mistake! I should've been the one to die, not you! If I had finished Cell off earlier, you wouldn't have sacrificed your life! If I hadn't let my power control me, and I did what you told me to do, none of this would've happened! It was all my fault!"

Goku narrowed his eyes. "No it wasn't! It wasn't your fault, Gohan!"

"How can you say that? You didn't want to come back after you died! It's my fault since you had to sacrifice your life to save the Earth and it's my fault that you're still dead!" Gohan yelled. His eyes showing all the guilt and emotions he kept locked up inside him for the last four years; feelings of anguish, guilt, remorse, and sadness.

"Stop it!"

Everyone froze. The one who had spoken was Vegeta. "Just shut up with all your ramblings! It's like Kakarotto said, it's not your damn fault! When will you get over that? When? Do you need me to slap some sense into you? I would gladly do that if it needed. For four years, I've seen you seen grow quieter and quieter and sadder and sadder. And now, you blame yourself even more… I just can't take your stupid attitude anymore. Forget the past and move on with your life!"

Both Gohan and Goku were speechless. Neither of them expected the outburst and they were not prepared for what he had to say.

Gohan didn't know what to say. He stammered a bit over a few words before expressing all his grief. "I…I… It's not that easy! One day you were having a life with your family, then the next, they're all dead and you're adopted into a new family. Now… now everyone's back from the dead and acting as if nothing had ever happened. How can you expect me to get past that fact? My mother and father were dead just yesterday and suddenly they're alive today. How am I supposed to react after they were dead for almost five years? And one of my parent's death was my fault!"

Vegeta walked up to Gohan and punched him in the face, his anger reaching its boiling point. "Try acting your age for once and not complain about what you could've done in the past! I do not like to repeat myself more than once. Forget the past and move on with your life! You're still young! I'm sure Kakarotto will return to life someday." He scowled in Goku's direction, signaling that it was his cue.

"Yeah. I will come back to life someday. Just not now since the Earth is still vulnerable to evil since it's only been a few years after Cell."

Gohan gritted his teeth and rubbed his throbbing cheek. "I… I don't know if I can," he whispered quietly.

Goku gave his son a hug to reassure him that things will be okay. "Gohan, promise me that you'll forget about what happened during the Cell Games okay?"

"I… don't know…" Gohan pulled away slightly from his father. "It's going to be hard."

"I know, Gohan. I know," he answered back.

Gohan forced a smile. "I'll try… but on one condition."

"What's that?"

"That you and mom will return to life within the next year."

"I'm afraid you've got a slight problem," Vegeta pointed out. "Is it not true that the dragon cannot revive a person if they died of natural causes?"

Gohan cursed to himself. "I forgot about that. Mom died giving birth to Goten, so that is kind of considered natural since her body could not sustain itself after Goten was born."

Goku's face fell for a moment before a smile appeared.

"What in the world are you smiling about, baka?" asked the prince of saiyans.

"The Namek dragon balls can fix that."

"The Namek dragon balls?" both Vegeta and Gohan asked.

"Yeah. The Namek dragon balls can revive a person as many times as they desire, no matter how they died. I'll ask Dende if he can come with us to Namek when we make the wish since he's more familiar with the people. That way they will be more willing to let us use the dragon balls."

* * *

Videl awakened around a pile of people on the ground. She groaned as she felt her muscles ache from any movement. "What happened?" she mumbled to herself. She looked at her surroundings and noticed in the distance, half a theme park still intact. Memories of the events that happened before she was blown away by Gohan's ki flashed through her brain.

"Where's Gohan and his fathers?" she mumbled to herself. She observed the people around her and noticed that Sharpner and Erasa were a few meters away from her. She stumbled to get on her feet before racing over to her two unconscious friends.

She knelt down beside Erasa and shook her shoulder all the while punching Sharpner in the face.

After a few attempts, Erasa's eyelids slowly fluttered open. Her blue eyes blinked a few times before adjusting to the sight in front of her. "V-Videl? What happened?" she asked weakly since she was currently experiencing pain in the back of her head.

When she was blasted away from Gohan's ki, she was thrown aback and hit her head before falling on the ground.

"I'm not quite sure myself. One minute we were buying ice cream, the next minute we were blown away from something," answered Videl. She reached a hand out and helped her friend to her feet.

Erasa rubbed the back of her head, hoping the pain will decrease. "What about Sharpner?"

Videl glanced down to her left and noticed the blonde haired boy lying still. She sighed and kicked him in the stomach.

Immediately Sharpner's eyes fluttered open and widened to size of saucers from the agony of the kick. "Oww! What did you do that for?"

She smirked at the sight of the boy curling up in pain. "Get up you lazy lug." She turned to her friend and asked, "Does that answer your question, Erasa?"

Erasa nodded. "Poor Sharpner… But oh well!"

"Come on, let's go find Gohan and the others," Videl said as she began to walk in a random direction.

* * *

Bulma, Chichi and the others awakened groggily.

"What happened?" asked Bulma.

"'Nii-chan blew us away with his ki," answered Trunks. "But why?"

"I don't know," replied Goten. "Is something wrong for 'nii-chan to do that?"

"Maybe," Bulma whispered to herself.

"Goten! You aren't hurt are you?" asked an overly concerned Chichi. She rushed up to the little Goku look a like and began examining him for any injuries.

"I'm okay Mommy #2!" Goten answered with a smile.

Chichi sweat dropped at the comment but restrained herself from slapping some sense into the poor boy. "That's nice to hear."

Bulma grabbed Trunks' hand and said, "Chichi, we better find Gohan and our husbands."

Chichi grabbed Goten's hand and nodded.

* * *

Elsewhere, Victoria stood on the top of the Ferris wheel with a smile on her face. She watched the people scatter about on the ground below her for a few minutes before flying off toward the abandoned apartment she had found just a few days ago. Whispers of "soon" filled the air around the Ferris wheel.

* * *

So, how was it? Good? Bad? Need more action? Will the plot thicken more? Give me your comments on either one or any suggestions you might have.

Give a lot of thanks to ShaggDiz for editing this chapter. It took a while, but luckily he was nice enough to rewrite a few scenes to make it sound better.

Next Chapter: The World Martial Arts Tournament is tomorrow. How will the Z Fighters do against the powerful Victoria? Will they win? Or will they lose? Find out next time!

Hahaha! I'm going to start advertising fanfics I like!

Parallel and Perpendicular – ShaggyDiz

Blinded – Dragonscales

Field Trip to Camp Hercule – Angelic Aki


	11. The Tournament

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation.

* * *

Aleandra Alyra Sarienna – You give the most interesting reviews. Update!! You know I will… It's just going to take me some time to do so. Anyways, make the Z Senshi loose? Nah, I don't think so. If it's like that, I might as well stop writing!

Story Weaver1 – The meal scene is hilarious huh? Wow, I didn't know that I had some humor in me!

Inu-dude – A sad or pissed Gohan is the coolest? I so agree. He's too much of a dork if he's not like that. All I have to say is steer clear of my other fic 'Teen Models' if you don't like a dorky Gohan!

Tenshi-Hotaru – You don't really like Victoria? Why??? TT My own beautiful original character is hated! Wah… Nah… I'm just kidding. You'll change you mind later. (Hopefully)

Shea Loner – I bet you're angry with me for not updating for such a long time. Sorry! I just haven't been in the mood to write lately…

Mayonaka Hoshi – Action? Action is pretty hard for me to write since I am not accustomed to writing action scenes, but I will try my best. Let's just hope that you think that the action is still good.

Luna's Meow – Yep! Buu's certainly got some competition, however, this is going to be a little different so don't expect Buu to get blown up in one blast. By the way, I don't really like GT anyway. Everyone except Goku and Vegeta are weak!

Silver Warrior – I have good taste in fan fiction? That's only because I advertise those I think are worthwhile to read. You know how lame some stories could be (my first works). Since you never heard of Parallel and Perpendicular, maybe you should start reading it. It's very interesting and it was written by my beta reader, ShaggyDiz.

There isn't going to be a junior tournament in this fic, just to let you know. I'm going to stick with the adult competition. However, I might consider adding a junior competition later. Ugh. Sorry if this chapter isn't written as well as the others. I haven't been in a writing mood lately and school began so the rest is self-explanatory.

* * *

Chapter 11

The Tournament

Victoria sighed to herself and laid down on the old and worn out mattress in one of the bedrooms. "Why didn't I finish them off?" she wondered to herself. She had the power and brains to defeat them, and yet… she still chickened out. "I guess that was my very first real battle against someone and my nerves got the best of me." She brought an arm behind her head and used it for a pillow. "I guess I'll have to wait until the tournament tomorrow."

* * *

"Oww! That stings!" whined Goku. "Are you sure there aren't any senzu beans?"

Chichi removed the cotton ball that had atheistic absorbed within and sighed to herself. "Goku, stop acting like a baby. And for the last time, no, there aren't any senzu beans left."

Goku grumbled under his breath. "I should've gone to the Look Out when I had the chance."

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!"

Gohan couldn't help but grin at the sight. His father was always so childish. He turned to Erasa and asked, "Is Sharpner awake yet?"

Erasa shook her head. "You gave him quite a scare with your freaky hair and eyes."

Gohan grinned. "Well, let's just say that my hair is special. It changes color when I want it to and I just put on my contacts again," he lied.

Luckily, Erasa believed everything she was told. Videl on the other hand, did not. She was told the truth about the Saiyan's abilities to change their hair and eye color after a long explanation about their heritage and past.

He turned to Videl and said, "If you're planning on entering the tournament tomorrow, I have a suggestion."

"What's that?"

"Cut your hair."

"What? Cut my _hair_?!" she screeched.

"There is no way you're going to convince Videl to cut her hair, Gohan. She loves it way too much," stated Erasa.

Videl gritted her teeth and hissed out, "Fine."

"What?" Erasa's mouth dropped open. "I can't believe I just heard that."

* * *

"Videl! Is that you?!" asked Chichi.

The raven-haired girl nodded slowly and ran a hand through her short hair for the hundredth time that day. She still had not gotten used to it yet. It just felt so awkward compared to her pigtails. "I cut it yesterday," she stated.

"You look… different," said Bulma.

"Yeah… tell me about it," groaned Videl.

Gohan eyed her and said, "At least now your opponents won't grab your hair."

Videl ran a hand through her hair again and glared at Gohan. She cut her hair just because of _that_? She could've avoided that easily. After all, she fought crime all the time and managed to escape evil hands that threatened to yank her hair off her head. What makes this any different?

Gohan noticed the glare and smirked to himself.

* * *

"Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the World Martial Arts Tournament!" the announcer yelled.

The crowd roared with life as they were anticipating the start of many battles.

"To start us off, we'll have the Great Hercule give a little speech before the fighters choose their opponents. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Great Hercule!"

Hercule stepped out from the resting area and toward the ring. The Afro haired man raised his arms up and released a yell, "Yeah!" He grabbed the microphone from the announcer and began his long boring speech. "We're here again to witness my magnificent victory over many fighters who have traveled here to have a chance to defeat me. I don't think they'll stand a chance, but the least I could do is let them try. Now let's get this tournament started! Everybody say Hercule!"

"Hercule!"

"I can't hear you!"

"Hercule!" the crowed screamed, louder than the previous yell.

"Now that's what I like to hear! Now let's get this tournament started!" Hercule smiled at the crowd with his victory symbol. "Right now we're gonna go draw our numbers to find out who we're fighting against. Be patient Hercule fans. You'll see lots of action soon enough!"

The crowd cheered once again at their _hero's_ words.

As our favorite group of fighters stood in line for the punching machine, Vegeta grimaced at the sound of Hercule's voice. "That buffoon thinks he can defeat the Prince of Saiyans? Well he's in for a surprise," he smirked.

"Vegeta, I don't think it'll be a good idea to plummet Hercule right now. You should do it when they least expect it, like when they're laughing at you. Then boom! You knock the stuffing out of him!" said Krillen.

The prince eyed the monk. "Embarrassing myself before destroying my enemy is dishonorable." He shot the monk a glare and said, "Destroying my enemy the moment I see him is the fighting style of the Saiyans."

Krillen gulped. Now he _definitely_ should not get on Vegeta's bad side. He took a step back to get away from the menacing prince.

Vegeta smirked to himself as he received the desired effect from his words to the bald monk.

* * *

"Number six," Gohan mumbled to himself.

"What was that Gohan?" asked Videl.

He turned to her and replied a little louder, "Number six." He said those words without enthusiasm. Ever since his conversation with his father the other day, he was slowly opening himself up to his family and family friends. However, he had not done so with his own friends he had made since he still did not have enough trust in them to show his true self in front of them.

Videl glanced at the board and said, "It's empty. He's my opponent, whoever he is…"

Gohan glanced at the board as well and nodded. "I have a good idea who that person is."

"Who?"

"You'll see."

Videl walked over to the wall and leaned against it. "What's up with him? He's back to his usual cold self. What happened to that happy Gohan? It's like he just shifted gears and he's back from being happy to being indifferent," she mumbled to herself.

"Don't worry, you'll just have to give him some time, that's all," said a voice.

She jumped up in fear from the voice that cut through her thoughts.

"Whoa… relax there, Videl. I'm not going to bite you or anything," assured Goku.

Videl calmed herself down and leaned back against the wall. "You know… I hope you're right about him. It would be a pity if he stays like that forever."

He nodded. "Um… Videl, just why are you trying to help him?" wondered Goku.

She sighed to herself and said, "Well… when I first met him, he seemed kind of interesting, especially the part where he hardly talked and was able to fly and shoot golden lights out of his hands."

Goku nodded.

"Then next week, he acted kind of normal. He talked, he laughed, and he enjoyed himself. It was odd." She looked up Goku and continued, "I was trying to open him up for a while, but he just shrugged me off, and then the next day he was smiling at me. You know what? The first time he smiled warmed my heart. I managed to open him up even if it was just a little bit. And now, after this whole Victoria thing, he's back to the way he was… I just want to see that happy Gohan again."

"Do you like him?" he asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you like him?" he repeated.

Videl was taken aback. "Do I l-like Gohan?"

Goku nodded his head. "I've been watching you two these couple of days and it seems like you've been hanging around him a lot. I also noticed how happy you look when you're next to him compared to your other friends."

"I… I…" She looked down at her feet for a while before looking back up at him. "I… guess… I mean, I like Gohan when he's not all cold and mean…"

Goku smiled at her. "That's a good thing because that's his true self."

"True self?"

He nodded. "About five years ago, I died."

"You died?!" she shrieked, suddenly fearful that she was talking to a ghost or zombie.

Goku pointed to the halo above his head. "What did you think this was?"

Videl shrugged her shoulders.

"Anyway, my wife and I died, which is why Bulma and Vegeta are now Gohan's parents."

She nodded her head, listening to what she was being told.

"After our death… Gohan kind of distanced himself from everyone, which is why he's acting the way he is. I hope that he'll return to that cheerful little kid."

"But… that doesn't explain his weird behavior from being you know… mean… to happy and then back to mean."

Goku sighed. "I don't know either. He must've been planning something."

Videl looked downcast for a minute before looking up. "I'll try my best to help Gohan revert back to that cheerful boy and will stop nothing at it."

Goku smiled at her. "Come on, I think they're going to start the first round soon. Let's see who our opponents are."

The two walked up the board full of fighters and looked themselves up. Both their eyes widened when they found out who their opponents were going to be.

"I'm going against Vegeta in the first round? This is not good…" Goku muttered to himself.

"Spopovitch, he's that big buff guy over there right?" she asked a little nervously. Ever since she found out about the Saiyans, she was not as confident about herself anymore since she knew that there were people far stronger than herself and her father.

"Relax, Videl. I don't think that Spopovitch is _that_ strong. I can assure you that you'll beat him."

"I hope you're right," she mumbled to herself.

* * *

"So Kakarotto, ready to loose?" Vegeta asked with a smirk.

"I don't know about that. You _might_ just beat me, but we won't know until we're actually fighting," replied Goku.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. 'Pathetic.'

Gohan leaned against the wall near the doorway, watching the fighters enter and leave the premises. After scanning the room for a while, he noticed Videl standing in a corner in a very nervous state. He quirked an eyebrow, wondering why she was behaving the way she was and walked over.

Videl unclenched her fists and tried to get the butterflies out of her stomach. She remembered being very confident when the won the junior division years ago, and this was no different. So why was she nervous now? She glanced out the window and felt the butterflies increase in amount.

"Videl."

She looked up at the owner of the voice and felt her heart skip a beat. She wondered why her heart did that. "Hi… Gohan."

He looked at her and asked, "Why are you nervous?"

"Nervous? Who said I was nervous?" she returned.

Gohan looked at her in disbelief.

"Okay… I'm nervous alright?" she admitted. She glanced out the window again. "It's just that I don't think I stand a chance against all of you. Look at how strong you are and how weak I am. How I can win against you guys? If you wanted, you could even kill me just by touching me."

"Stop thinking so lowly of yourself. You know why we are so strong. You are a normal person and so it's natural for you to not be able to be as strong as us."

She looked away as he said this. She knew he was right, but didn't say anything.

He heaved a sigh and said, "If you stop thinking so lowly of yourself, I'll teach you how to fly."

She whipped her head around to face him after hearing the last word of his sentence. "Really? How about shooting those beams of light too?"

"You're pushing your luck," he grinned.

* * *

"Alright folks, we all know that you paid good money for fantastic fights and it's time to commence the Tournament! In our first round, we have Krillen, a very skilled fighter who hasn't made an appearance in a while. We're just glad that he's back and that he's going to give us an awesome fight!"

The crowd cheered loudly at the sight of the two fighters stepping onto the ring.

Pintar grumbled to himself again. "He's not even worth my time."

Krillen shot him a glare, but remained his cool long enough until the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the battle.

"Come on little man, hit me right here in the gut," taunted the fat man.

Krillen smirked. "Okay… if that's the way you want it…" He jumped up and gave a powerful punch to the stomach of the obese man.

Pintar fell back from the pain, gripping his stomach.

Krillen threw Pintar in the air and kicked him out of the ring, winning the fight.

"Is that awesome or what, ladies and gentlemen? Pintar is out of the ring AND knocked unconscious. You can't loose worse than that!" exclaimed the announcer.

The crowd roared with life.

The announcer looked at his clipboard and announced with a smile, "The next two opponents will be out shortly, so keep your pants on!"

True to his word, the next two fighters stepped up. One was a tall green man wearing a turban. The other was a short purple man with a Mohawk.

"Introducing Ma Junior! He has been to a couple of tournaments in the past and we're once again glad that he's back."

The moment Piccolo stepped into the ring; sweat began to pour down from his head. 'This is not good. Who _is_ this guy and what does he want?' Piccolo thought. This was the first time he seen his opponent and he was frightened. Who ever this person was, happens to be very powerful, not to mention very mysterious.

'You will find out,' said a voice.

Piccolo reeled back in fear. 'Who said that?!'

'Me, of course.'

'W-who are you?'

'It's like I said, you will find out.'

"And a first timer, Shin! He may be small, but he packs a powerful punch," said the announcer. He looked over at the other operators of the tournament and waited until they ran the bell. "You may begin … now!"

The crowd screamed and yelled as the battle commenced.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" inquired Shin.

Piccolo stood rooted to the spot. He had no idea what to do. "I… I... uh… I…"

"Um… gentlemen, the fight has begun. You can start fighting now…" said the announcer.

Piccolo gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He slowly turned to the announcer and said through gritted teeth, "I forfeit."

"What was that?"

"I forfeit," he said louder.

"What? You forfeit? You can't do that! You're one of our best fighters!"

Gohan narrowed his eyes in suspicion. 'Something's up.'

Piccolo bowed his head and mumbled, "I'm sorry." He then proceeded to walk out of the ring and back to resting area.

The announcer sighed and said sadly, "I'm sorry Ladies and Gentlemen, but we're not going to have a fight for Round 2. Ma Junior has forfeited. Now don't get upset! We're going to have our next two competitors out soon!"

Half the crowd growled in disappointment while the half cheered for the next battle.

"Piccolo, what's the matter?" asked Gohan.

Piccolo leaned against the wall. His jaw tightened when Shin walked through the doorway, but he remained calm. "This is going to be a very interesting Tournament this year."

Gohan nodded. "I had a feeling that it would be." He walked away and leaned by the doorway to watch the next fight.

Piccolo eyed Shin once more before closing his eyes. 'What is _he_ doing here? What is someone as powerful and great importance as him doing here?'

Kibito came up behind Piccolo and said, "Since you know our secret, I suggest for you not to tell the others."

Piccolo's eyes sprung open in surprise. He didn't even hear them coming. His ears were even better than Saiyan hearing for crying out loud and he didn't hear this guy coming!

"We do not want them to know of us just yet," the pink man continued.

Piccolo nodded slowly and listened as the sound of retreating footsteps echoed through the room.

* * *

"Let's welcome our next two competitors. First we have Spopovitch, who had competed in the last Martial Arts Tournament. He lost in the first round, but he's back and he looks like he's ready to change that," began the announcer. He gestured toward the other fighter and smiled proudly. "Our other fighter, Satan Videl! Hercule's very own daughter! She won the junior tournament years ago and now she's ready for the big league. Let's just see how well she does. Everyone give her your support and yell!"

Instantly, the crowd began to roar with life.

Videl smiled up at the crowd and waved at them as she walked into the ring.

Spopovitch was instantly enraged. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. He clenched them so tightly that his knuckles turned white and it appeared as if his teeth might be grinded to dust. Spopovitch screamed at the announcer to start the match so he could vent out his anger and pulverize his opponent.

The announcer jumped back a little, but obeyed the large man, for fear of his own safety. "You may begin now!" he managed to squeak out.

Spopovitch dropped into a fighting stance and grinned cynically at Videl. This was too good to be true. He could pulverize that idiot's daughter for making a fool out of himself. Then he could beat the moron to a bloody pulp just like his daughter. Yes, he liked that thought. Spopovitch took a menacing step forward and watched as the girl dropped into a defensive stance and clenched her fists tightly. She showed no fear, but her eyes gave it all away. Those eyes showed fear of being outmatched, embarrassed, and most of all, killed. Spopovitch took another step forward and watched as Videl unconsciously inched away from him. He smiled to himself. Fear was what he liked. He wanted to see fear in those eyes, the exact same eyes that belonged to the girl's father.

"You're not going to get out of this fight in one piece," he said with an evil smile.

His voice sent shivers up her spine. Videl moved back a couple steps. She clenched her fists tighter than they already were and gritted her teeth. She could feel sweat beginning to roll down the side of her face. 'I REALLY hope Goku was right about this guy…' she thought frantically to herself.

"Why are you running away?" he asked with that eerie voice.

Videl moved back a little more until she heard small pieces of rock falling. She looked behind her and cursed to herself. She was at the edge of the ring. Videl quickly ran to the other side of the ring. Why was she showing fear to such a bully? Her father beat him in the last tournament and he no doubt want revenge. Well, she wasn't going to give it to him. She gathered all the courage she had in her and attacked. She went for a punch to the stomach. Her fist made contact with its target with a deafening sound as flesh hit flesh. Videl felt pain surging through her arm, but it was nothing compared to her usual training with a wooden doll. 'That ought to have caused some damage,' she thought. She looked up at his face and her eyes widened in shock.

"What the…?" She quickly pulled her arm back and swung again, this time with her other arm. Again, she hit him with enough force to knock down a man twice her size. However, her punches barely even bothered him. Videl gritted her teeth. "What's with this guy?" she muttered to herself.

Spopovitch looked down at her with that eerie smile and uttered, "You can't win."

Videl's eyes widened in fear for a brief moment. She jumped back a couple of feet before trying a roundhouse kick. This time, the kick caused some damage. Spopovitch fell to the ground, hard. Videl landed gracefully and released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

In the fighter's waiting room, a group of fighters watching the fight sighed in relief as the large buff man fell to the ground.

"That's the way," Gohan muttered to himself. "If she keeps this up, she might have a chance to beat this guy."

Goku nodded. "I can see that she's a skilled fighter. With some training from us, she might surpass her father."

"I think she already has. Hercule wouldn't have been able to knock that guy down like that with one kick. It might have taken him several tries before he was even able to scratch his opponent," said Gohan.

"That's true. That buffoon wouldn't have stood a chance against that guy," agreed Vegeta. He paused for a while, narrowing his eyes. "I sense something odd about him. I know that he was originally not this strong. Something happened that gave him his strength."

"How much stronger is he?" asked Goku.

"A few hundred or few thousand times."

Gohan turned his attention away from both his father and stared out the doorway and at the ring. 'Videl… I hope they're not right. I don't think that I can stand anything happening to you. You were the first person to actually try opening me up and never gave up either. I might even like you. I don't know why, but when I'm around you, I feel all warm and happy inside. I… I can't really explain it, but I like being around you. I may not have known you that long, a month max, but I had this good feeling about you; that you were different from the others.' He shot her a smile, even though he knew that she couldn't see it and whispered, "I promise you, I will protect you from any harm."

Back in the ring, Videl tried multiple attacks, hitting Spopovitch with all her strength. All which caused absolutely no damage to the grinning man.

He looked down at her again and said, "Time to stop fooling around and start getting… serious."

* * *

Well, that's it for Chapter 11. I know it isn't much, but I have the next chapter planned for something special. Could you guess what it is? Oh wait, I know that many of you are angry with me for not updating for over three months, right? Well, sorry! I am kind of back in the mood of writing, so hopefully the amount of time between each update won't be as long. Remember to review and give me your opinions on how I am writing, how the story is progressing, or if you just want me to update!

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	12. The Horrors

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation.

* * *

mayonaka Hoshi – Thanks for the support and yes, it has been a while.

Feyla – I haven't stopped writing. Just how you can say it… took a break. Sigh… I hope that the next update won't be as long either.

Beta 4 Hire – Wassup Zeta. P

Ssj-chibigoten – See… I updated! Just to make you happy! D

The Dark One18 – Really? I didn't know that Kibito was actually orange. He kind of looked pink on my video so I assumed that he was pink. And that thing about it going from light hearted to angsty… that was my intention. I don't know why, I just decided to throw that it, I guess…

Luna' Meow – Wow, what took ya so long to find out that this was updated. This was displayed as updated because I uploaded something to the wrong story… so… what's your excuse? Haha… just kidding.

V von sayian – No! No more questions! Ah!!

Great Saiyanman – Um… I'm not going to tell you! You're pretty good at guessing, BUT how are you so sure that that is what is going to happen? Hmm?

Okay, the fight scene between Videl and Spopovitch is going to be a little different. I don't feel like watching my video to know how the fight goes so basically this is going to be from memory.

* * *

_Previously:_

_Back in the ring, Videl tried multiple attacks, hitting Spopovitch with all her strength._

_All which caused absolutely no damage to the grinning man._

_He looked down at her again and said, "Time to stop fooling around and start getting… serious."_

* * *

Chapter 12

The Horrors

Spopovitch grabbed Videl by the arm and threw her to the stone floor of the ring. She cried out in pain because of the force in which she was thrown down by. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in hopes of decreasing the enormous pain in her back. As she slowly got back onto her feet, she shot the bulky man a deathly glare and charged at him. She jumped into the air and prepared a kick to his head but Spopovitch dodged the attack. Videl skid to a stop near the edge of the ring before running back and tried a tackle.

Her attack made contact, however, Spopovitch was less than pleased. He barely even moved an inch from her onslaught. He looked down at her with a frown. Spopovitch lifted a hand up in the air and brought it down on the back of Videl's head.

Videl's eyes widened from the pain and her grip loosened from the muscular man. She fell to her knees in pain gritted her teeth. She placed one hand on the back of her head while she looked up to glare at Spopovitch.

"Serves you right," she heard him utter.

Slowly, but surely, her eyes closed and her body slumped to the ground.

Gohan took a step forward. He gritted his teeth and gripped onto the wall tightly until it a huge chunk crumbled to powder. He could feel his power build up.

Goku noticed what was happening and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stop it. You cannot interfere with their fight."

Gohan never heard his father's words as the scene replayed through his head. His energy rose even more until his eyes glowed a brighter hue of aqua and his hair grew about an inch longer.

"Gohan, stop it know!" yelled Goku. He powered up to Super Saiyan and held onto his son's shoulder to restrain the young demi-saiyan from flying straight into the battle.

The announcer shook his head and closed his mouth. He didn't notice that it was hanging ajar until he prepared to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen… it appears that Spopovitch has knocked Videl unconscious… The countdown shall begin now. O-"

"No!" yelled Spopovitch. He picked up Videl's unconscious form and slapped her across the face a few times until she came to. Her eyes were only half open, but she was awake. She gritted her teeth as she felt her body thrown across the ring once again. Videl tried to get up, but failed miserably since her limbs felt incredibly weak.

"It appears that Videl has regained consciousness, but cannot stand up," said the announcer.

Videl's breathing was heavy and sweat began to appear on her face. She remained lying in the ring, inert. She didn't have energy or will to move.

Spopovitch looked down at Videl in disgust and kicked her body until it rolled over. He picked her up by the head and began to punch her repeatedly in the stomach. Blood oozed out of her mouth each time his fist made contact. She tried to break free of his grasp, but found it useless. She was simply too weak. Finally, Spopovitch dumped her on the ring.

She lay there on the ring for a while before Spopovitch placed a foot on top of her head and began to apply pressure. She screamed in agony each time the muscular man raised his foot slightly and then dropping it back down.

"No! Videl!" screamed Gohan. He broke free from his father's grasp and prepared to charge right into the ring when a voice stopped him.

"What do you think you're doing? Stop playing around and just finish the fight!" the voice screamed.

Gohan looked around until he spotted a man floating right above the ring with his arms crossed. He too, had his head shaved like Spopovitch and wore the same eerie 'M' on his forehead.

Spopovitch seemed to want to throw a tantrum, but relented and pushed Videl out of the ring.

Gohan felt relieved and immediately rushed to Videl's side. He picked her up and checked her pulse. He sighed in relief.

"Ladies and Gentlemen… Spopovitch has won the battle," said the announcer. The crowd went silent, still in shock from the injuries Spopovitch had inflicted upon Videl.

Gohan shot Spopovitch a deadly glare. "You and me, the next match. I'll win."

Spopovitch scoffed at Gohan's words. "You wish."

Gohan shot Spopovitch another glare before running into the fighter's waiting room. The announcer didn't even have enough time to stop Gohan since the boy ran faster than any normal human could see. He ran past everyone in the room except Victoria. She stood in front of him.

"Get out of the way! I have to get her to the hospital ASAP!" he shouted.

Victoria's face remained neutral. She gazed down at Videl's bruised and battered body. "She's in horrible condition."

"I know that! That's why I'm trying to get her to the hospital! But apparently you decided to block my way!" he yelled. Gohan tried moving to the left and was blocked again by Victoria.

"Close your eyes," she ordered.

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "How's that supposed to help me get her to the hospital?"

Victoria glared at the boy. "Not you. I meant Videl."

Videl closed her eyes and waited for Victoria to do something.

Victoria placed both of her hands above Videl's body and immediately her hands began to glow. Slowly the cuts, scrapes, and bruises on Videl's body began to disappear.

"W-what did you do?"

"A simple healing technique I picked up a while ago," she answered simply.

Videl climbed out of Gohan's arms and stood next to him. "I… I feel as good as new…" she mused. She began clenching and unclenching her fists, moving her arms and jumping in the air.

Finally, Goku and the other had caught up to the trio. "W-what's going on? Dende's not around and I don't think you have any senzu beans… so how is that possible?"

Gohan remained staring at Victoria. "Somehow she managed to heal Videl like Dende could."

The others raised their eyebrows in confusion.

Gohan grabbed Victoria's arm and demanded, "Where did you learn that technique?"

Victoria yanked her arm free from Gohan's grasp and replied simply, "When I was traveling around in space. It's from one of the planets I visited. I think it was called Namek."

"What do you mean by 'was'?" asked Piccolo.

Victoria shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I learned that technique when I was like five or six… I can't really remember." She smirked. "You and I both know that Namek no longer exists. That's why your kind had to find a new planet to settle on."

Piccolo growled in anger. This girl was mocking him!

Victoria smirked again. "Gohan, I think that you should go out since that announcer was calling you for the last two minutes."

Gohan shot Victoria another glare before running off toward the ring.

* * *

Yes, I know that this wasn't much, but this was all I could think of. I had a little writer's block so I couldn't really write anything… However, I hope to have the next chapter out pretty soon and don't give up reading this story! I will try to finish writing this to the end. Thanks to ShaggyDiz for his excellent beta reading once again. Again, I know this was short, but think of it as a little present from me. My birthday is today and I really wanted to at least get something out to make you fans happy. D (Yay! I'm finally 15!)

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1. Ai no Chikara: Dark Passions by Enchantress101 (User ID 58530)

2. Hoshi no Chibi by Cynical Fluff (User ID 135463)

3. I'd Do Anything by Angelic Aki (User ID 95236)

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	13. Gohan's Turn

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation.

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Luna's Meow – Hey! The answer to the question? I will not say. D

Silver Warrior – Yes, I know that that was expected, but I just wanted to add it in.

SSJ5Tigger – I might just kill Spopovitch in a _very_ painful way.

Ssj-chibigoten – Thanks for the support and I hope to see more from you soon.

To all readers – Wow… it's been quite a while since the last time I've been here, ne? Oh well, I'm back! You can't get rid of me _that_ easily!

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_Previously:_

_Victoria shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I learned that technique when I was like five or six… I can't really remember." She smirked. "You and I both know that Namek no longer exists. That's why your kind had to find a new planet to settle on."_

_Piccolo growled in anger. This girl was mocking him!_

_Victoria smirked again. "Gohan, I think that you should go out since that announcer was calling you for the last two minutes."_

_Gohan shot Victoria another glare before running off toward the ring._

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Chapter 13

Gohan's Turn

Gohan stepped out of the building and walked toward the ring where his opponent awaited his arrival. He stared up at the menacing man loaming over him.

"I hope you're ready for battle," Kibito commented.

The young demi-saiyan nodded his head. "I've been ready."

A little smirk appeared on the larger man's face when those words left the saiyan's mouth. "Excellent."

The announcer gazed up at the two fighters and observed each of them. When he felt that they were ready, he raised his hand in the arm and yelled, "Fight!"

Immediately, Gohan dropped into defensive stance, eagerly awaiting his opponent's onslaught. It was at least ten seconds that Kibito had not shifted from his standing position. The young saiyan wondered what was wrong and narrowed his eyes, glaring at the orange man. "Why aren't you fighting?" he demanded.

Kibito stared down at the young boy calmly and replied, "You are the one."

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean that I'm the one?"

Kibito grinned at the boy's inquiry. "You will soon find out. Now I suggest for you to not hold back against me."

Almost instantaneously, a smirk appeared on the blond boy's lips. "I don't plan to." With that said, he charged forward, tired of waiting for the larger man to attack. He gave an uppercut to the colossal man, forcing him back a few steps before doing a round house kick, nailing him square in the face once again.

Kibito staggered back a couple more steps and gripped his face in agony. He was definitely not expecting to be hit with so much force. He peered through his swollen eye and noticed the young saiyan flying forward for another attack. Alarmed, he brought his arms up, covering his face and causing the assault to his arms. Again, he staggered back a few steps. This boy was strong, perhaps too strong. He was sure that Yamu and Spopovitch would emerge from hiding to drain this boy of his energy. However, he knew that they knew better. They would most likely wait for the strongest fighter to be confirmed before robbing him of his energy.

"Why aren't you fighting back!" Gohan demanded as he switched to a defensive stance.

The larger man gritted his teeth and powered up until he was at fifty percent of his max. "Don't worry. I will fight!" Then he charged forward as well, dropping to the ground to do a leg sweep.

Gohan was caught off guard. He began to fall, but he reacted quickly by rebounding with his hand pushing against the stone ring. He skillfully brought himself back onto his feet and deflected an attack meant for his head. He retaliated with his own attack, kneeing the orange man in the stomach.

Kibito deflected the assault and brought his arm up to elbow the boy.

Gohan reacted quickly and bounced backward with a couple back flips. He landed skillfully on his feet and smirked. This battle was going to be very interesting. "You're not that bad," he stated with the smirk still on his face.

Meanwhile, Kibito began to quicken his breathing quite a bit. Several beads of sweat ran down the side of his face and dripped off his chin. He knew that he wasn't going to last very long in this battle. "Thank you," he returned half-heartedly.

"What do you say about having a little more fun?" offered the demi-saiyan.

Kibito stared at Gohan bewilderedly. "What do you mean by fun?"

The grin on the young boy's face grew. He brought his hands over his head and slowly began to gather energy in the palm of his hand. "Masenko!" He threw the energy ball at the unprepared alien.

Kibito jumped out of the way just in time for the little ball of energy to graze the skin of his hand. 'That was close,' he thought as he observed the light trickle of blood oozing out of the newly opened wound. "What are you, crazy? There are people here! It's too dangerous to be using energy blasts!"

Gohan shrugged a bit. The smirk never left his face. "It's all right. As long as I don't use too much energy, there won't be much damage."

* * *

Goku's eyes widened at his son's words. "What is he thinking? He knows better than to use energy blasts in such a crowded place!"

Off in the back corner, you could see a smirk appear on the Saiyan prince's lips. 'Looks like he isn't such a wuss after all.'

"He's been hanging around Vegeta way too long," commented Krillen.

The other fighters could only nod their head in agreement.

* * *

Kibito gritted his teeth as the boy's bold statement. He charged forward at the demi-saiyan, gathering a ball of energy in the palm of his hand during the process. When he reached Gohan, he kicked the boy and shot him with the ki ball.

Gohan blocked the kick effortlessly and took the ki blast. He flew back a little and examined the singed part of his shirt. What the orange man hit him with was very weak. He frowned at the thought. "I know that you could do better than that."

The larger man looked at the boy incredulously. "You're mad! If we use more energy than necessary, then that would mean that innocent people could get injured."

The blond sighed and relented. "Fine. I won't use more energy than necessary, okay?"

However, before Kibito could reply, the young demi-saiyan charged forward and attacked with a flurry of punches and kicks. Kibito, to say the least, was trying his best to defend himself, but to his avail, about fifty percents of the assaults made contact. The large man staggered back more until he fell to the ground, clutching his sore arm and stomach.

Gohan stood in front of the man, unscathed and barely winded. "I don't think that you could last any longer in this battle."

Kibito peered at the teen through swollen eyes and struggled to prevent himself from passing out then and there. However, it seemed as if luck wasn't on his side. It wasn't long before his eyes closed and his body fell with a loud thud onto the floor of the stone ring.

"Gohan is the victor!" the announcer yelled.

Gohan rid himself of the smirk and chided himself for letting his saiyan side take over once again through the exhilaration of battle after having not fought for so long. He stepped off the ring and slowly proceeded to enter the fighter's fighting area.

As soon as he walked through the doorway, he was bombarded with a barrage of inquiries.

"Wow! When did you get so fast and strong?"

"How did you end the fight so quickly? He was so bulky!"

"Eh, you could've ended the fight sooner," Victoria remarked. Almost everyone in the room sent glares her way, but she didn't care.

Gohan gave them a soft smile and walked over to Videl, standing by her side.

"That was an awesome fight, Gohan," commented the raven-haired girl.

"Thanks," he replied with a very faint smile.

* * *

"Okay! Next we have, the World Champ against the beautiful Number Eighteen," the announcer declared to the crowd. Immediately, the people went wild with boisterous screams and shouts of admiration for their hero.

The Z Fighters instinctively rolled their eyes in disgust at the citizens' demeanor. "Go get him, Eighteen!" cheered the Z Senshi as the blond woman walked through the doorway.

She turned to look at them with a grin plastered over her face. "Of course. That imbecile deserves what he's going to get." The moment she set foot on the ring floor, the males began to whistle and doubt her ability to fight. Eighteen shot the crowd a malicious death glare that sent babies wailing in no time.

"Well, you're a cutie, aren't you," commented the World Champ. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

Eighteen ignored the comment and waited indifferently for their battle to commence.

As soon as the announcer waved his arm, signifying the start of the battle, Eighteen charged forward at the afro-ed man and elbowed him the gut. Hercule immediately doubled over in pain and curled up into a little ball, tears of agony streaming from his eyes.

The announcer peered over at the bawling man and asked cautiously, "Mr. Satan, are you all right?"

Eighteen nonchalantly flipped her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms. 'Looks like he won't be going anywhere any time soon. Might as well end it now,' she thought to herself. She walked over to the World Champ and kicked him with as little force she could muster, but powerful enough to knock the imbecile out of the ring. However, she never did have control over her _light punches_ and such, so Hercule ended up flying up in the sky for approximately a thousand feet before landing flat on his face outside of the ring where the grass used to stand before his collision.

Everyone stared at the World Champ in awe. All were speechless and the crowd silent. The only cheering was from the Z Senshi and their friends.

"I guess this means that Ms. Number Eighteen here, is the victor," the announcer muttered into the microphone.

Eighteen walked back toward the waiting room with a grin plastered on her face. 'The imbecile deserved what he got. But I do wonder how long he would have to be in his full body cast after taking a hit to the ground like that.'

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Okay, I'm gonna end it right here. I know that it's been a long time since I last updated. November, to be exact, but that's beside the point. The reason is… I've been writing another fanfiction for some other site and that took up most of my time. But I haven't forgotten you all, that's why I'm back! D I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I don't know when the next update will be, but I hope it won't be too long from now. P

Eh… no advertisements this time. I'm too lazy to find something to advertise. So all I'm going to say is go look for ShaggyDiz, Psycho Ann, Angelic Aki, or Sideswipe.

Thanks again to ShaggyDiz for his excellent editing.


	14. Goku and Vegeta's Spar

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation.

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Edited By ShaggyDiz

Disclaimer: You know the basics, no one except the creator and producer of DBZ owns them, otherwise I would be filthy rich.

Note: I used elements from some of my favorite fics, so I give them all the credit. I forgot whom it belongs to since I haven't checked in like about one or two years until I wanted to write this, and all their ideas came flooding into my brain.

Luna's Meow – The other site, huh? Well, all I have to say is that it's populated with fanfiction that revolves around Asian stars.

Silver Warrior – Well, that's the best she could do, although she _does_ have an urge to kick him in the you know where.

Switch – Thanks! And well, here's the update.

SSJ5Tigger – Hmm… Let's see how I could dispose of Spopovitch. If it doesn't satisfy you, you may wish him back and kill him all you want! D

Mystical Marik – You _forgot_ about this story? H-how could you! (Offended TT) Oh well, at least you enjoy this, right? _Right?_

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Previously:

Eighteen nonchalantly flipped her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms. 'Looks like he won't be going anywhere any time soon. Might as well end it now,' she thought to herself. She walked over to the World Champ and kicked him with as little force she could muster, but powerful enough to knock the imbecile out of the ring. However, she never did have control over her light punches and such, so Hercule ended up flying up in the sky for approximately a thousand feet before landing flat on his face outside of the ring where the grass used to stand before his collision.

Everyone stared at the World Champ in awe. All were speechless and the crowd silent. The only cheering was from the Z Senshi and their friends.

"I guess this means that Ms. Number Eighteen here, is the victor," the announcer muttered into the microphone.

Eighteen walked back toward the waiting room with a grin plastered on her face. 'The imbecile deserved what he got. But I do wonder how long he would have to be in his full body cast after taking a hit to the ground like that.'

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Chapter 14

Goku and Vegeta's Spar

Trunks jumped out of his time machine happily, like a four-year-old boy who had just gotten candy. He was grinning like crazy as he put away the machine and took off into the air, flying as fast as he could toward the island where the tournament was to take place. "There's no way that I'm going to miss my dad and Goku fight," he said with a grin as he increased his speed. 'I just hope that I haven't missed it yet.'

* * *

Krillen and the rest of the crew ran up to the grinning blond to congratulate her on her victory over the man who had supposedly defeated Cell. Eighteen grinned triumphantly as she stood next to her husband. "He had it coming," she muttered with a smile.

"If only _I_ had him!" Krillen said wistfully.

Eighteen laughed. "Unfortunately, you got a big tub of lard instead. But don't worry, Krillen. You'll get your chance another day."

Krillen sighed and nodded his head. "I can't wait for that day to come." Just as he was about to make another comment, the loud voice of the announcer came roaring through the doorway.

"Next up, we have a very skilled fighter, a very nice guy, and a former World Champion, Son Goku! Goku will be competing against Vegeta Briefs. Although this may be his first appearance in the tournament, I've heard that he is a very skilled fighter. Give a warm welcome to them both because I know that they're going to provide us with a fantastic fight!" the announcer said enthusiastically into the microphone in his hand.

"Well, it looks like it's your turn," Krillen said to his best friend.

"Good luck dad," Gohan said with a smile. Once those words left his mouth, he looked over to Vegeta. The Saiyan prince was giving him a lethal death glare that would send a normal man running for the hills a hundred miles per minute. "You too dad!" he added quickly with the infamous Son grin. For some reason, he felt more like himself when he gave that smile. For the first time in five years, he actually felt like himself. He glanced over at Videl and noticed that she was giving a thumbs up to Goku. He felt another smile tugging on the side of his lips as he watched her. Just before she turned toward him, he snapped himself out of his reverie and quickly turned away.

The proud Saiyan prince walked indifferent toward the doorway. Though his exterior may be calm and rational, his feelings were totally different. Vegeta was very, no, extremely anxious to finally get his spar with his archrival. He had been waiting for the day where he could publicly embarrass and humiliate the third class baka, as he called Goku. Vegeta couldn't help but smirk as he sauntered onto the ring, staring confidently at the ever so calm Goku. "Well, what do you know, we're finally going to fight."

Goku smiled in return. "I know. Isn't it great?"

The smirk seemed to grow as his pride took over. "Great doesn't even begin to cover it." Just then, he felt a familiar power level coming their way. Vegeta grinned. "It seems as if my other son doesn't want to miss our spar either."

"It looks that way," agreed Goku. "He should be here any moment now." True to his word, Trunks had landed a couple seconds later and immediately spotted out his mother, taking a seat by her.

"Hey mom. What's up?" he grinned childishly.

Bulma smiled as if she was seeing Vegeta actually admit his love to her and practically tackled her future son. "Trunks! You're back!"

Trunks grinned and returned the embrace. "Of course! There's no way that I'm going to miss a fight between dad and Goku."

"Well, you came just in time. Their fight is about to start soon," Bulma stated as she reluctantly released the lavender haired boy.

Trunks' grin grew in size and so did his childish behavior. "I can't wait!"

The younger Trunks and Goten looked on at the older boy in curiosity. They both wondered the reason for the incredible resemblance between Trunks and the strange new boy.

"Did mom call him Trunks, Trunks?" Goten asked bewilderedly.

The chibi nodded his head slowly. "I think she did…" He shook his head in confusion and laid down on his back. "I think he's supposed to be the future me. Mom told us something about him, remember?"

Goten shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in confusion.

The younger Trunks sighed. "Oh well. We'll just have to see what he wants and wait for him to leave."

* * *

"Well, now that he's here, what do you say about giving a show that is worth his trip?" suggested Goku.

"You read my mind," Vegeta said with a cocky grin. He immediately dropped into a fighting stance and watched as Goku did the same. 'We'll see who's the best, Kakarotto,' thought the Saiyan prince as he lurched forward, colliding with Goku, forearm against forearm.

Goku gritted his teeth slightly as he tried to overpower the older man. "Wow… you've gotten stronger, Vegeta."

"Of course. You think that I'd just sit my butt on the couch these five years?" he mocked as he charged up slightly, breaking the stalemate. He swung his arm forward and punched the taller Saiyan in the face.

Goku flew a little from the impact but quickly recovered as he phased out and appeared right above the prince. Vegeta sensed what was to happen and he too phased out of the way. Goku stopped his onslaught before he reached the ground and phased out in pursuit of the shorter man. Vegeta reappeared and slammed his elbow toward Goku's abdomen. The taller Saiyan sensed the attack and phased out again until he appeared right behind Vegeta. He prepared to fire an energy beam, but halted midway as Vegeta turned around and fired his gallet gun. Goku gritted his teeth and reeled his hand back, cupping them as he murmured those famous words. "Kamehameha!" the blue beam shot out of his hand and clashed against the other blast, rivaling against each other.

Vegeta gritted his teeth and released the blast, watching as it disintegrated into blue beam. "What do you say about fighting seriously this time?"

Goku grinned as he descended back onto the ring. "Sure, though that seemed like a rather short warm-up."

Victoria snorted at their words. "Weaklings," she mumbled under her breath. The moment those words left her mouth, she earned a roomful of glares from all the Z Senshi. She grinned nonchalantly and leaned against the wall to continue her observation of the spar that was taking place outside in the ring.

Vegeta wiped the grin off his face and now held his game face. He was determined to defeat Goku no matter what. He clenched his fists and released his energy. His hair lightened from the jet black to golden blond and his muscles increased slightly in size. Within a matter of seconds, a golden aura surrounded he Saiyan Prince. "Let's get serious. I'm going to defeat you Kakarotto, once and for all."

Goku stared grimly at the prince. He knew that this would not be one easy fight. Goku clenched his fists as well and powered up, releasing a small scream as his hair flew up in the ever so pleasant golden blond and his muscles grew slightly bulkier. Soon, a gold aura appeared around Goku as well.

"Big deal, all they did was go Super. Doesn't mean that they're any stronger. They're still weaklings," snorted Victoria. Again, a roomful of glares was shot in her direction. She shrugged them off indifferently even though a little smile was tugging at the edge of her lips.

The mighty prince released a scream as he charged forward at his opponent at top speed. The taller Saiyan clenched his fist and charged forward as well. It seemed as if the two were to collide into each other if one did not move out of the way. They flew closer toward each other until there were mere meters between the two. Then suddenly, Vegeta and Goku phased out again. They suspended themselves in mid-air while exchanging a series of blows, punches, kicks, and energy blasts.

The battle raged on for over twenty minutes. Both had a fair amount of scratches on each other, but neither seemed willing to give up. Vegeta climbed out of the crater he had created in the ring from his fall and powered up until he was near his max at Super Saiyan level one. "I'm going to defeat you Kakarotto!" he yelled furiously.

Goku looked down at the Saiyan prince and prepared for the attack that was to come. In less than a second, Goku received a blow to the end. He flew back from the impact and looked up just in time to get kneed in the stomach. Shortly after, he was hit roughly in the back, knocking him down to the ring. Now it was his turn to crawl out of their manmade crater. Goku looked up at the shorter man while gritting his teeth and clenching his teeth. His clothes were torn in several places and blood ran down the side of his face. His breathing came a little ragged, but nothing out of the ordinary. "Looks like it's time to push it up a level," he whispered to himself. Almost immediately, he went to the second level of Super Saiyan. Vegeta had ascended earlier, so it made sense that the prince overpowered our favorite warrior.

"Oh, _now_ you ascend," mocked Vegeta. He slowly lowered himself to the ground and watched a Goku stared at him with such intensity that it just renewed his vigor to defeat the baka.

"Let's finish this," replied Goku.

* * *

Everyone was aghast at the sight. These two mysterious men were fighting with such force and intensity that it seemed unreal. Most recognized the two men as those warriors from the Cell Games and were cheering them on for such a wonderful fight even though they were only capable of witnessing a tenth of the entire battle.

Trunks grinned like a little kid as he watched his father and his master's father battle. "This is by far the best fight I have seen since the Cell Games," he commented to Bulma.

"Whatever you say Trunks," she replied. The reason for her reply would have to be because she too were not able to actually witness most of the battle since her human eyes were too sluggish to catch the warrior's rapid motions.

"Whoa… I've never seen dad fight like that before. Not even with Gohan," mused the younger Trunks.

"Yeah… Do you think daddy number two will win?" wondered Goten.

Chibi Trunks shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows, but I bet that dad will win over your dad."

Goten cocked his head to the side and scratched it in confusion. "Daddy number one will win over daddy number two? Oh well! Go daddies!"

Chibi Trunks rolled his eyes and returned his attention back to the rink. He hoped that he and Goten could compete in the next tournament. From what he had seen, it seemed fun and he really wanted to fight.

* * *

Goku narrowed his eyes and cupped his hands together, muttering the infamous words of his favorite attack. As the bluish beam grew in size, the smirk on Vegeta's lips never left. Finally when the beam was powerful enough, it seemed as if Goku was going to release it. However, he did just he opposite. He phased out with the instant transmission until he was only a foot away from the Saiyan prince.

Vegeta's eyes grew in surprise at the sudden appearance of his opponent. He had no time to react and was forced to absorb the attack, reeling back from the impact and grimacing in pain. Luckily when he was forced back, he was only moved about twenty feet away. He still had a good amount of space before he actually fell out of the ring. "That was a cheap shot," muttered Vegeta.

"How was that cheap? You just weren't fast enough to avoid it," Goku pointed out without a hint of cockiness.

* * *

Gohan and grinned at the sight. That was some battle. It was much more heated up and longer than any battle he had ever fought, well, aside from Cell.

"I… I can't believe it! With those moves, they make my dad look like a clown!" commented Videl.

"He was a clown to begin with," snickered Krillen. Gohan shot the once bald man a quick glare that shut him up in less than a second.

Victoria leaned back against the wall, leaning comfortably as she heard the occupants of the room gape at the battle outside. She scoffed at their idiocy. If that was an incredible battle, then the one she was to fight would ten times better than that. The Raishuian sighed at the length of the battle. "I really want to fight, but _no_. They just _had_ to take their time with their petty little fight," she muttered to herself, the warrior side getting the best of her.

"Well, you have to admit that your father did look like a clown when Eighteen kicked him out of the rink," commented the blond boy.

Videl sighed in defeated and nodded her head. "I hate to say it, but you're right. My father looked like an absolute moron." She looked over to her companion and smiled. "But I'm glad that you and your friends decided to compete. I don't know what I would do if my father win again this year."

"Perhaps scream your head off?" supplied Krillen.

The raven-haired girl looked over to the speaker and sighed. "No, I'm afraid that I'd probably do more than scream. More like choke my dad after the photo shoots."

Gohan struggled to restrain himself from laughing, but found it pointless since he had erupted into laughter along with the other occupants of the room.

* * *

The Saiyan Prince glared at his rival and reached a hand up to wipe the blood off his lip. A smirk appeared almost immediately as he clenched his fists and powered up more, until he nearly reached his max. Just as Vegeta was about to make an attack, he was interrupted by the voice of the announcer.

"Thirty minutes has elapsed and no one has been declared victor. The judges will now make their decision," stated the announcer.

Vegeta sent a glare over to the announcer and yelled furiously, "You will _not_ interrupt my fight with Kakarotto. We will continue to battle until our deaths."

The announcer felt a cold sweat run down the side of his face when he heard those words. "B-but, you're not permitted to kill your opponent! You'll be disqualified!"

"I don't care," the prince replied indifferently.

The announcer and the judges were too frightened to disagree, so they allowed Vegeta to do as he wished.

Vegeta lowered himself into a fighting stance and taunted, "Come and get me, if you dare."

Goku took that as an invitation to attack so he phased out and elbowed Vegeta in the back to the head. The Saiyan Prince fell forward from the impact of the assault, but quickly recovered as he retaliated by throwing Goku over his shoulder. Right before the taller man collided with the stone ring, he propped himself up with one arm and performed a leg sweep, knocking Vegeta off his feet. The Saiyan Prince performed a couple of back flips until he regained his balance a few meters away from his opponent. He rushed forward, first phasing out and then attacking Goku in the abdomen. Goku was fast to react for the moment Vegeta's fist made contact, he sent an energy blast up toward the prince's face. The Saiyan Prince phased out before he received the attack and appeared in the sky. The taller Saiyan followed in suit as he appeared in the sky. Again, they went on exchanging a ton of punches and kicks until Vegeta was forced to fly back a few feet. He brought his arm forward, gathering energy into the palm of his hand. Goku knew that a regular energy blast would not be able to compare with the attack that Vegeta was going to use. He had no choice but to use his strongest and favorite attack, the Kamehameha. Goku cupped his hands together to the side while the ball of energy slowly gathered in his hands. The beam was ready, but he was preparing some extra energy in case Vegeta tried something tricky.

The Saiyan Prince released his attack. Goku followed and released the Kamehameha. The two beams clashed with each other, fighting to get the advantage. After a moment of the beams struggling back and forth, the blue beam slowly overcame the yellow. Goku took this chance to release more energy. Soon the bluish beam enveloped the yellow and Vegeta. After the attack wore off, smoke appeared around where the prince was. As soon as the foggy haze cleared, it revealed a battered Vegeta who slowly descended down to the ring and passed out. Goku's breathing was quite ragged as he descended as well. As soon as Goku was declared the victor, he passed out as well.

"Oh my God! Vegeta!" Bulma yelled frantically with concern.

Trunks put a hand on her mother's shoulder and reassured her, "He's going to be okay, mom. I've got some senzu beans with me. I'll go give it to him right now."

Bulma nodded her head and watched as the older form of her son flew down to where her husband was.

Chibi Trunks signaled his brother to follow but halted as soon as he received the death glare his mother was sending him. The look simply told him that if he left, he would be expecting to miss dinner for the next two days. He reluctantly stayed in his seat.

Gohan walked out of the waiting room and grabbed hold of his father while Piccolo took hold of Vegeta. They swung the limp bodies over their shoulders and brought them back into the waiting room. Trunks landed and walked in through the back, unseen from the audience.

"Trunks? What are you doing here?" Gohan asked as he placed his father's body onto the ground.

Trunks smiled and replied, "I came to see the tournament. My mom would've come, but she had too many things to do."

"That's nice to hear, welcome back, kid," greeted the gruff voice of the green man.

Trunks smiled to him as well and greeted everyone in the room. Then he suddenly remembered the reason why he was even there. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of senzu beans. "I thought that these might come in handy," he said as he gave the beans to Gohan.

The blond teen smiled appreciatively as he fed his two fathers. Within seconds, they were completely recovered. All the blood, scratches, and bruises instantly vanished. Disregarding the clothes, it seemed as if they hadn't fought at all. "If you came to see the tournament, why didn't you enter as well?"

Trunks rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he replied, "I'm afraid that fighting in competitions aren't really my thing. I prefer to fight when I need to."

Gohan nodded his head in acknowledgement. "I understand where you're going at." Suddenly groaning noises were heard as the two men awakened.

"What happened?" Vegeta asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Goku won," answered Piccolo.

The Saiyan Prince shot a glare at his rival and walked to the side of the wall, leaning against it with his arms crossed. "Stupid baka. I _will_ defeat you one day."

Goku smiled since he heard the mutter and turned to face the lavender haired teen. "Wow! Trunks, when did you get here?" he asked, referring to his presence in the room.

"Just now. I told mom that I would give you some senzu beans," replied Trunks.

"Are you going to stay around in here?" asked Krillen as he approached the older teen.

Trunks shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I might."

The moment he said those words, the other competitors that were not part of the Z Senshi protested. "He's not allowed in here. He's not in the tournament. Go back outside and sit in the stands cheering me on!" said Jewel.

Vegeta walked toward the 'bishonen' and grabbed him by the collar, slamming him against the wall. "My son will not be cheering for a loser like you. If you ever talk like that to him again, I swear that you'll be in the next dimension faster than you can say sorry," he said angrily.

Jewel cowardly nodded his head. "I won't do it again!" he squeaked out in fear to man who held him in surprisingly strong death grip.

Vegeta grinned as he dropped the man, sending him dropping to the floor on his bottom. "I'll see to it that it _won't_ happen. Otherwise King Yama better be expecting you _real_ soon."

All the Z Senshi raised an eyebrow at the scene they had just witnessed. Did Vegeta just stand up for Trunks? They were all confused. Well, except for Victoria who was currently daydreaming about her parents.

Right before any of the Z Senshi could say anything, the voice of the announcer interrupted the group. "Next up, we have Killa and Victoria!" he yelled into the microphone.

The Raishuian smirked as she got up from the floor she was sitting on and walked out the door. Killa followed her, punching his fists together as a sort of warm-up before their battle. "Prepare to lose, little girl," he said to her.

Victoria rolled her eyes, ignoring the comment and calmly walked onto the ring. She turned to face the tall man and grinned confidently. "I won't lose," stated simply.

Killa raised an eyebrow at her statement. How could a scrawny little girl like her defeat him? He won every opponent he had faced so far, well, everyone except Hercule. However, that was a different story, the man was supposedly undefeatable.

The announcer smiled at the two and raised his arms. "The fight may begin!" he yelled.

Killa immediately dropped into a fighting stance, or in his case since he had boxing gloves, brought his hands out in front of him.

Victoria didn't move and just watched as the tall man went on the defense.

"Come on. Show me what you got, little girl," he taunted as he started to jog circles around the girl.

The small Raishuian lifted her arm slowly, making it appear as if she was just stretching the limb. Then suddenly, she lunged forward and punched the man in the face, sending him flying out to the ring at record speed.

Everyone gasped when they saw that scene. This little girl had just defeated a man twice her size!

Victoria shrugged her shoulders and smirked as she walked down the stairs of the stone ring. The announcer gave a little nervous laugh and immediately announced her as the victor.

"Not even worth my time," she snorted as she walked back into the waiting room.

Everyone had grim faces as the girl entered the room and took a seat by the corner. Not many liked her, heck, either they despised her or were afraid of her.

* * *

"And Yamu is the victor," the announcer stated as he looked at the mangled body of the blond fighter, Jewel.

"There's something unusual about that guy," Gohan whispered to his father.

Goku nodded his head. "It's weird. It's almost as if he wasn't even human. He's just like Spopovitch." His eyes narrowed as he watched the buff and skinny man walk back into the waiting room. "There's something fishy going on around here. I remembered that Spopovitch was in a competition before and he was very different from what he is now. Something's not right," he said as he took another glance at the mysterious fighters with the 'M' on their foreheads.

Gohan shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing that we can do yet." He too, took a glance at the mysterious fighters and narrowed his eyes. 'Just _who_ are they?'

Vegeta followed the gaze of his rival and adopted son. He frowned at the sight. It was the two weaklings. However, there was something very strange about them. He knew that much. One, their body and muscle mass looked fake, not to mention the odd skin color and 'M' on their foreheads. He narrowed his eyes. 'Those two are trouble.'

* * *

Well, I'm going to end it right here. This chapter was a little longer than the last chapter, but then again, with Goku and Vegeta fighting, that was expected. Hopefully the next chapter will come soon, but it's going to be a little difficult for me to write since there was so much fighting involved. All these fighting scenes are starting to give me a headache because of I have to think up of new scenarios each time a fight is started. Oh well. Happy reading everybody.

Thanks again to Fred for his excellent beta reading.


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